USAID's Infant & Young Child Nutrition Project
IYCN on YouTube
Mozambique
The US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Infant & Young Child Nutrition (IYCN) Project contributed to enhanced community- and facility-based nutrition services in Mozambique, improving the way mothers feed their infants and young children. The project supported the Ministry of Health (MOH) to advance the country’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) by training providers to promote improved breastfeeding practices and align national nutrition policies with international standards.
IYCN then developed tools and job aids reflective of those standards, helping to spread consistent messages about infant and young child feeding and maternal nutrition to nutrition programs, providers, and caregivers across Mozambique. Because many Mozambicans live far from health facilities, which are often ill-equipped to meet the health needs of the surrounding population, IYCN built the capacity of community-based infant and young child feeding counseling services. In the provinces of Inhambane, Nampula, Gaza, and Sofala, IYCN sponsored training-of-trainers workshops to prepare government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) staff to train community activists in infant and young child feeding.
Finally, through a collaboration with the International Baby Food Action Network and local NGOs, the project piloted linkages between health facilities and community agents, enabling mothers and caregivers to regularly access infant feeding information from trained health workers and volunteers.
Highlights
- IYCN conducted a literature review on policies, strategies, and programs addressing infant and young child feeding and found that the activities of the MOH and other implementing agencies did not reach health workers throughout the country.
- IYCN conducted a rapid assessment of nutrition assessment, counseling, and support services to identify staff training needs at hospitals supported by US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief partners in three areas: Nampula, Inhambane, and Maputo Provinces.
- The project assisted the MOH in advancing the BFHI at José Macamo and Mavalane Hospitals by creating a strategy for addressing gaps in BFHI services and adapting training manuals, social and behavior change communication materials, and monitoring and supervision tools to address the needs of health facility workers.
- The project supported the MOH to develop a unique community component to expand the BFHI by integrating community interventions into the existing health facility-focused initiative.
- IYCN trained 20 community activists to integrate expanded infant and young child feeding counseling and mother support group discussions into their existing outreach activities.
Download a brief summarizing IYCN’s activities in Mozambique.
IYCN resources
- Country brief: Advancing the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in facilities and communities (2012)
- Training Manual on Counseling Skills to Support the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative in the Mozambican Context (2012) [Portuguese: Formação de Habilidades de Aconselhamento no Contexto Moçambicano da Iniciativa Hospital Amigo da Criança (IHAC)]
- Infant and Young Child Feeding and Gender: A training manual and participant manual for male group leaders (2012) [Portuguese: Género e Alimentação Infantil: Manual de formação para líderes do género masculino e manual do participante para líderes do género masculino]
- Engaging Grandmothers to Improve Nutrition: A training manual and guide for dialogue group mentors (2012) [Portuguese: Comprometendo as Avós para Melhorarem a Nutrição: Manual de treino para os mentores do diálogo em grupo e guião para o grupo de mentores do diálogo]
- Strengthening Health Talks: Training Manual (2012) [Portuguese: Manual do Curso de Formação: Como tornar as palestras de saúde mais eficazes]
- Mother-to-Mother Support Groups: Trainer’s Manual and Facilitator’s Manual with Discussion Guide (2012) [Portuguese: Grupos de Apoio Mãe-para-Mãe: Manual do facilitador com guia da discussão e manual da instrutora]
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Photo: PATH/Siri Wood