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With research staff from more than 70 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

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Danielle Resnick

Danielle Resnick is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit and a Non-Resident Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. Her research focuses on the political economy of agricultural policy and food systems, governance, and democratization, drawing on extensive fieldwork and policy engagement across Africa and South Asia.

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experts

Nutrition, Diets, and Health

Phuong Nguyen

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Phuong Hong Nguyen is a Senior Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit whose research interests are in maternal and child health and nutrition. She plays a significant role in the Measurement, Learning, and Evaluation of Alive & Thrive, a multiyear initiative promoting optimal infant and young child feeding practices. In addition, Phuong leads the evaluation efforts for Maternal Nutrition Interventions and is a team leader of the Data and Evidence to Support Policy Implementation component for POSHAN II (Partnerships and Opportunities to Strengthen and Harmonize Actions for Nutrition II). She is also deeply engaged in assessing the role of food environments in adolescent nutrition. Phuong has conducted research in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, and Viet Nam using various methodologies, including cluster-randomized impact evaluation, mixed-method process evaluation, and costing research.

Before joining IFPRI, she worked as an obstetrician for more than 12 years in Viet Nam. She received her MD from Thai Nguyen Medical School, Viet Nam, and her PhD in nutrition and health sciences from Emory University.

Languages spoken: English, Vietnamese

Publications

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Anaemia among mother-child dyads in India: Trends, drivers, and future projections

2026Pedgaonker, Sarang; Meher, Trupti; Gupta, Monali; Chakrabarti, Suman; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Singh, Shri Kant; Dwivedi, Laxmi Kant; Aditi; Scott, Samuel P.
Details

Anaemia among mother-child dyads in India: Trends, drivers, and future projections

Anaemia among mothers and their children is a widespread public health challenge with profound consequences for individuals and societies. While anaemia has been studied separately in women and children, there remains a literature gap examining anaemia in mother-child dyads, limiting insights on interventions that may simultaneously address anaemia in both groups. Our study examines trends and drivers of anaemia among mother-child dyads (mothers aged 15–49 years and their children aged 6–59 months; N = 408,342) in India using nationally-representative data from 2006 to 2021 and estimates the potential future reduction in anaemia among mother-child dyads based on changes in selected drivers. We employed descriptive statistics, multivariable logistic regression and population attributable fraction (PAF) analysis. The co-occurrence of anaemia among mothers-child dyads changed very slightly, from 35% in 2006% to 33% in 2016 and to 37% in 2021. Subnational analyses revealed varying trends by states, with Delhi showing the highest increase (17%–32%) and Sikkim the largest decrease (29%–16%) between 2006 and 2021. Maternal education, regular consumption of nonvegetarian food and green leafy vegetables, consumption of iron folic acid supplements, utilization of government health services, and improved sanitation at both household and community levels were associated with lower likelihood of anaemia among mother-child dyads. The cumulative PAF suggested that addressing these factors collectively could reduce anaemia prevalence among mother-child dyads by 18% to 28% (under different scenarios) by 2030. The study underscores the need for comprehensive, multi-sectoral interventions targeting both maternal and child health to effectively combat anaemia in mother-child dyads.

Year published

2026

Authors

Pedgaonker, Sarang; Meher, Trupti; Gupta, Monali; Chakrabarti, Suman; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Singh, Shri Kant; Dwivedi, Laxmi Kant; Aditi; Scott, Samuel P.

Citation

Pedgaonker, Sarang; Meher, Trupti; Gupta, Monali; Chakrabarti, Suman; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; et al. Anaemia among mother-child dyads in India: Trends, drivers, and future projections. Maternal and Child Nutrition. Article in press. First published online September 29, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.70106

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Anaemia; Data; Maternal and Child Health; Public Health; Children; Mothers

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.70106 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Women’s dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021

2026Pant, Anjali; Chakrabarti, Suman; Headey, Derek D.; Singh, Nishmeet; Nguyen, Phuong Hong
Details

Women’s dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a crisis that jeopardized food consumption and dietary diversity. This study aimed to: (1) investigate relationship between COVID-19 and women’s and children’s diets in India; (2) examine how this varies by socioeconomic status and mothers’ vegetarianism; and (3) assess whether mobility restrictions during India’s national lockdown influenced these dietary changes. The analysis drew on data from India’s National Family Health Survey 2015–16 and 2019–21, focusing on 11 states surveyed before and during COVID-19 (N = 567,727 women, 141,905 children). COVID-19 exposure was defined as interviews after 24 March 2020 (national lockdown). Outcomes included child feeding practices and women’s food consumption and dietary diversity. The impact of COVID-19 on diets was estimated using a difference-in-difference model; effect of mobility reduction on diets was examined using linear regression. All analyses were adjusted for confounders, interview month, state fixed effects, and sampling weights. Results showed that COVID-19 exposure was linked to significant declines in child feeding practices (−6.9 percentage points [pp] for minimum dietary diversity, −5.0 pp for minimum acceptable diet, and −6.1 pp for fruit consumption) and women’s diet (−5.7 pp for dietary diversity and green vegetable consumption). While magnitude of impact varied across socioeconomic sub-strata and mothers’ vegetarianism status, the differences were not statistically significant. The diets of women and children were greatly impacted by mobility reduction. COVID-19 has worsened the diets of women and children in India. More research is needed on the impact of relief measures to strengthen food safety nets nationwide.

Year published

2026

Authors

Pant, Anjali; Chakrabarti, Suman; Headey, Derek D.; Singh, Nishmeet; Nguyen, Phuong Hong

Citation

Pant, Anjali; Chakrabarti, Suman; Headey, Derek; Singh, Nishmeet; and Nguyen, Phuong Hong. Women’s dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021. Maternal and Child Nutrition. Article in Press. First available online on October 10, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.70104

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Vegetarianism; Dietary Diversity; Nutrition; Child Feeding; Covid-19; Surveys

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.70104 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Data Paper

Status of nutrition in Bangladesh: Trends in outcomes, determinants and coverage of interventions between 2018 and 2022

2025Kapoor, Rati; Christopher, Anita; Parvin, Aklima; Avula, Rasmi; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Gune, Soyra; Sarswat, Esha
Details

Status of nutrition in Bangladesh: Trends in outcomes, determinants and coverage of interventions between 2018 and 2022

This Country Nutrition Profile describes the trends in nutrition outcomes, their determinants, and coverage of nutrition and health interventions during critical life stages for women and children in Bangladesh. The findings are based on the 2018 and 2022 data from Bangladesh’s Demographic and Health Surveys. Bar graphs were used to visualize national trends, maps and color-coded dashboards illustrate division-level trends. The purpose of the profile is to be an easily interpretable reference for nutrition stakeholders in Bangladesh.

Year published

2025

Authors

Kapoor, Rati; Christopher, Anita; Parvin, Aklima; Avula, Rasmi; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Gune, Soyra; Sarswat, Esha

Citation

Kapoor, Rati; Christopher, Anita; Parvin, Aklima; Avula, Rasmi; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; et al. 2026. Status of nutrition in Bangladesh: Trends in outcomes, determinants and coverage of interventions between 2018 and 2022. SANI Data Note 2. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/181058

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Nutrition; Nutritional Status; Health; Women; Gender; Children

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Data Paper

Blogs

World Health Day 2017: The links between mental health and child undernutrition and illness
Issue Post
 | 
April 06, 2017

World Health Day 2017: The links between mental health and child undernutrition and illness

By David Richards, Phuong Nguyen, Purnima Menon, and Marie Ruel

IFPRI research shows that maternal mental health problems, including depression, can harm child nutrition and health—and that helping mothers in this regard helps children.

Breastfeeding practices can be improved at large scale for better health and nutrition
Issue Post
 | 
August 01, 2016

Breastfeeding practices can be improved at large scale for better health and nutrition

By Phuong Nguyen, Sunny Kim, and Purnima Menon

IFPRI found Alive & Thrive had a measurable impact improving breastfeeding in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Vietnam

Events

Delivering for Nutrition in South Asia: Towards Impact at Scale
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

December 2 to 4, 2025

Delivering for Nutrition in South Asia: Towards Impact at Scale

South Asia continues to face an enduring burden of malnutrition in all its forms—undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and a steady increase in overweight and obesity and non-communicable diseases. Over 1 billion people in South Asia cannot afford a healthy diet. While many promising solutions have emerged, translating them into sustained, large-scale impact remains a challenge. This […]

23rd International Congress of Nutrition (ICN)
IFPRI at External Event

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August 24 to 29, 2025

23rd International Congress of Nutrition (ICN)

IFPRI is participating in the 23rd International Congress of Nutrition (ICN), hosted by the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) on August 24-29 in Paris, France.  The theme of this year’s congress is “Sustainable Food for Global Health,” bringing together experts to discuss evidence and innovations in nutrition, sustainability, food science, and public health. IFPRI […]

2024 Global Child Nutrition Forum
IFPRI at External Event

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December 9 to 10, 2024

2024 Global Child Nutrition Forum

IFPRI is pleased to participate in the “2024 Global Child Nutrition Forum”. The Global Child Nutrition Foundation works with a global network of governments, businesses, and civil society organizations to support school meal programs that help children and communities thrive. GCNF provides training, technical assistance, and networking opportunities to help governments build national school meal […]

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News

January 10, 2023 | In the News

On rice schemes, how Naveen Patnaik has been one step ahead of Centre (Indian Express) 

Indian Express reports on the progress Odisha is making to move into the next leg of its National Food Security scheme showing a good example of how food schemes – specifically to provide cheap rice – can be a winner.  It was in 2008 that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik first unveiled the scheme to provide Rs […]

August 17, 2020 | In the News

India Has 1.5 Million Underage Brides Every Year. Here’s How ’21’ Can Change That (Better India)

Better India published an article on the government’s campaign to prevent underage marriage for girls. A task force to examine issues related to age of motherhood, lowering Maternal Mortality Rate and improvement of nutritional levels was created. An IFPRI study, “Social, biological and programmatic factors link adolescent pregnancy to early childhood undernutrition: a path analysis of India’s 2016 National […]

January 22, 2020 | In the News

The world’s mothers are watching ever more babies die of starvation (Foreign Policy)

Foreign Policy published an article on malnutrition. Malnutrition is passed from one generation to the next between mother and child—unless someone commits to stopping the deadly cycle. A 2019 IFPRI study found that out of 60,000 first-time mothers in India those children born to teenage mothers were smaller and had a lower height-to-weight ratio on […]

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