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30 May 2018
Report

Evaluation of Zambia’s First 1,000 Most Critical Days Program: Final Report

Andrew Brudevold-Newman, Paula Dias, Hannah Ring, Terry Roopnaraine, David Seidenfeld, Gelson Tembo
The First 1,000 Most Critical Days Program bundled a series of health interventions that have been proven to reduce stunting, including vitamin supplements, breastfeeding support, sanitation, education, and more.

In Zambia, the rate of stunting—a common measure of malnutrition—is 40%. The First 1,000 Most Critical Days Program was designed to offer mothers and babies in Zambia a suite of interventions to improve their health and development. AIR was hired to evaluate the efficacy of this program and whether it was ready to scale up to additional communities.

AIR’s evaluation revealed the challenges inherent in delivering a bundled nutrition program. Rolling out and delivering these services concurrently presented significant logistical hurdles. Because the interventions are so disparate—ranging from deworming, to family planning, to growth monitoring—the providers of these services spanned numerous government ministries and funding organizations, many of which operate on different calendars. Not only did these numerous stakeholders struggle at times to communicate and coordinate, but the program also suffered from problems relating to funding flows and complicated financial management procedures.

AIR did find small, encouraging reductions in malnutrition and stunting in young children, but the results were not statistically significant. To learn more about the outcomes of this study and its implications for future research, check out our Q&A with Senior Researcher Hannah Ring.

PDF icon Evaluation of Zambia’s First 1,000 Most Critical Days Program: Final Report (PDF)

Related Projects

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Map of Zambia
Project

Zambia 1,000 Days: Evaluation of the “Tackling Maternal and Child Undernutrition in Zambia” Program

Large numbers of Zambian children suffer from nutrition-related disorders such as low birth weight, wasting, being underweight, chronic malnutrition, and various nutrient deficiencies. AIR and its partners are evaluating the First 1000 Most Critical Days Program, which addresses these issues by targeting households with pregnant women or children under two for maternal and child nutrition and health services.

Related Work

3 Dec 2018
Q & A

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Image of mother in Zambia with young child

A Quick Word With: Hannah Ring, Senior Researcher

The First 1000 Most Critical Days program was designed to provide women in Zambia with a host of maternal and infant health supports. In this Q&A, Hannah Ring provides insight into how the program worked and the challenges of bundling multiple interventions.
Topic: 
International, International Early Childhood and Child Development, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
17 May 2018
Spotlight

Zambia-women-sitting-outside-248x165.jpg

Image of two women in Zambia

AIR in Zambia

Since 2001, AIR has been working in Zambia, conducting multi-method impact and process evaluations across many sectors such as health, WASH, social protection, early childhood development, nutrition, and education. Explore our projects and read about our regional office.
Topic: 
International, International Early Childhood and Child Development, International Education, International Health and Social Protection, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

Further Reading

  • A Quick Word With: Hannah Ring, Senior Researcher
  • Zambia 1,000 Days: Evaluation of the “Tackling Maternal and Child Undernutrition in Zambia” Program
  • Impact Evaluation of Zambia’s Child Grant Program
  • Zambia's Child Grant Program: 48-Month Impact Report
  • Cash Transfers Explained: How Cash Empowers Poor Families in Zambia
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Contact

David Seidenfeld

Vice President, International Research and Evaluation
Hannah Ring

Hannah Ring

Senior Researcher

Topic

International
International Early Childhood and Child Development
International Health and Social Protection

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