ABOUT THIS NOTE

Home to one-quarter of humanity—one-fifth of whom are youth—South Asia has the world’s largest concentration of poverty and malnutrition (1–3).

Social safety nets (SSN) are cash or in-kind/food transfer programs designed to help individuals and households cope with chronic poverty, destitution, and vulnerability (World Bank, 2018).

Using a theory of change (TOC; a simplified definition of how and why an intervention is expected to work) or a programme impact pathway (PIP; a more detailed description of the causal pathways through which an intervention is delivered) to guide

Objective: To examine inequalities and opportunity gaps in co-coverage of health and nutrition interventions in seven countries.

Suboptimal dietary intake is a critical cause of poor maternal nutrition, with several adverse consequences both for mothers and for their children.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and other global nutrition and health agencies recommend nutrition actions throughout the life-course to address malnutrition in all its forms.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and other global nutrition and health agencies recommend nutrition actions throughout the life-course to address malnutrition in all its forms.

Antenatal care (ANC) is an important platform to deliver health and nutrition interventions during pregnancy but there is limited evidence on how both the number and content of ANC visits relate to birth outcomes.

The WHO recommends Essential Nutrition Actions (ENAs) throughout the life course to tackle malnutrition in all its forms.

South Asia carries the largest burden of malnutrition globally. Tracking coverage of nutrition interventions is a critical step in designing effective nutrition policies and monitoring progress in the region.

South Asian countries carry the largest burden of undernutrition globally. The World Health Organization has recommended a set of Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) to tackle all forms of malnutrition.

In South Asia, many women are married before their 18th birthday and give birth soon after.

This paper analyzes the implication of economic structural change and dietary transformation on changing patterns of agri-food trade among 17 Asian development countries.

Marriages between blood relatives – also known as consanguineous unions – are widespread in North Africa, Central and West Asia and most parts of South Asia.

Highlights of IFPRI’s current cutting-edge, policy-relevant research in Central, East, South, and Southeast Asia are featured in this brochure.

Achieving food and nutrition security is a complex challenge. This is especially true in South Asia, where 40 percent of the world’s poor—who survive on less than US$1.25 a day—live and 21 percent of the population is undernourished.

Undernutrition leads to large monetary costs to an economy, which come most directly from higher mortality/premature death, a higher incidence of illnesses, and lower productivity due to nutritional deficiencies.