Solutions Panorama

Providing Birth Attendants
with Health and Nutrition
Training
Featuring:
Micronutrient Initiative (MI)
Where:
Kenya
Time Frame:
2012-2016
DESCRIPTION
Women are often the decision makers when it comes
to nutrition for their families and communities, but
they sometimes lack the knowledge they need to
make informed decisions. Interventions that provide
them with nutrition information and education can
allow them to become nutrition champions within
their households and their communities. Depending
on the country and cultural context, information
campaigns, workshops, mentoring, or more formal
classes can take place in health or community
centers, in people’s homes, or in recognized
community gathering sites.
Depending on child nutrition, training can cover
topics such as breastfeeding; feeding children; the
need for iron and folic acid supplementation; water,
sanitation and hygiene (WASH); and even how to cook
nutritious meals. In many countries, training focuses
on the whole family, including the mother-in-law (who
often is the main influencer in terms of nutrition for
the family) and the husband. In the Micronutrient
Initiative (MI)-led ‘Linda Afya Ya Mama na Mtoto’
project in Kakamega County, Kenya, traditional birth
attendants received health and nutrition training
in order to better counsel women before and after
delivery. Ultimately, the whole family benefits from
the knowledge acquired during the training.
The training sessions are usually instigated by civil
society groups or local health centers. Facilitators
are trained through a cascading “train the trainer”
model in order to build local capacity and increase
the number of people who can provide training. A
facilitator manual is used, as well as manuals and/or
visual cues for participants (depending on
literacy levels).
IMPACT
This solution empowers women to make better decisions when it
comes to feeding themselves and their family. The impact of the
training can be measured by changes in the nutritional status of the
community, an increase in the number of babies who are breastfed
within the first few hours and months of life, and a decrease in the
prevalence of malnutrition indicators, such as stunting and wasting,
and in micronutrient deficiencies.
For example, a behavior change communication campaign led
by MI and its partners in Kenya contributed to a significant
increase in the intake of iron and folic acid supplementation in
women of reproductive age. Through this project, several groups
of people, including the women themselves, frontline health
workers, community health workers, and male opinion leaders
attended workshops on ways to prevent and control anemia and,
most importantly, on the importance of daily iron and folic acid
supplementation during pregnancy.
LEARN MORE
Birthing access to safer deliveries in Kenya; micronutrient.org
Launch of “Linda Afya ya Mama na Mtoto” project in Kenya; prontointernational.org
About Linda Afya ya Mama na Mtoto; knowamref.org
Submitted by Micronutrient Initiative (MI)
This solution empowers women to make
better decisions when it comes to feeding
themselves and their family.
WOMEN DELIVER 2016 CONFERENCE: SOLUTIONS PANORAMA 20