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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.

researcher spotlight

David Spielman

David Spielman is the director of IFPRI’s Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit and has been with the institute since 2004. His research agenda covers a range of topics including agriculture and rural development policy; agricultural science, technology, and innovation; plant genetic resources and seed systems; agricultural extension and advisory services; and community-driven rural development.

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Since 1975, IFPRI’s research has been informing policies and development programs to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods around the world.

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IFPRI currently has more than 480 employees working in over 70 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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TOPIC

Health

Having access to nutritious, affordable, and safe food is critical for individuals to reach their physical and cognitive potential, maintain their health, and ensure economic productivity. Since agriculture, nutrition, diet, and health are intrinsically linked, IFPRI’s health research covers a range of issues, including antimicrobial resistance, agriculture-associated, infectious, and noncommunicable diseases, food safety, intimate partner violence, malnutrition, and maternal and child health, as well as social protection, agriculture, health, and education programs and policies for reducing poverty and enhancing nutrition, health, and education outcomes.

IFPRI’s research on this topic is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 2 and SDG 3.

health

topics

Publications

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Journal Article

Changes in height-for-age of Egyptian children from 1995 to 2014: Implications for improving child health outcomes

2026Hashad, Reem; Hassan, Zeinab A.
Details

Changes in height-for-age of Egyptian children from 1995 to 2014: Implications for improving child health outcomes

Background Stunting is a serious health problem in Egypt. Stunting rates and height-for-age z-score (HAZ) distributions changed notably in Egypt over time, yet the factors that led to these changes remain unknown. This study examines the factors associated with these changes and provides important considerations for designing interventions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030. Methods Leveraging data from Egypt’s Demographic and Health Survey for the years 1995, 2003, and 2014, we employ a Recentered Influence Function (RIF) approach that goes beyond the conventional way of measuring stunting as a binary indicator to examine changes across the entire HAZ distribution. The RIF decomposes changes in the HAZ distribution over time into differences attributable to changes in the levels of the determinants of nutrition (covariate effects) and in the strength of the association between these determinants and HAZ (coefficient effects). Results The stylized facts show a puzzling increase in stunting rates despite improvements in the level of the determinants of nutrition. Our RIF results attribute the change in stunting rates and other parts of the HAZ distribution primarily to changes in the association between the determinants of nutrition and HAZ (coefficient effects) rather than in the level of the determinants (covariate effects). The results also show that the determinants of nutrition could have heterogeneous impacts at different quantiles of the HAZ distribution. Conclusion To reduce stunting rates and achieve the SDG of ending malnutrition, our findings highlight the need for targeted interventions. Interventions should be geographically targeted, promote gender and income equality, improve maternal nutrition, and expand access to better sanitation facilities. This is in addition to wealth redistribution and reforming Egypt’s subsidy program to focus on nutritious food.

Year published

2026

Authors

Hashad, Reem; Hassan, Zeinab A.

Citation

Hashad, Reem; and Hassan, Zeinab A. 2026. Changes in height-for-age of Egyptian children from 1995 to 2014: Implications for improving child health outcomes. BMC Public Health 26(1): 153. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25696-4

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Children; Child Health; Anthropometry; Child Stunting

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25696-4 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

C’est la vie!: Mixed impacts of an edutainment television series in West Africa

2026Dione, Malick; Heckert, Jessica; Hidrobo, Melissa; le Port, Agnes; Peterman, Amber; Seye, Moustapha
Details

C’est la vie!: Mixed impacts of an edutainment television series in West Africa

Edutainment is a promising tool for changing behavior at scale, yet little is known about how to maximize impacts. We undertake an experimental evaluation of a popular West African television series, C’est la vie!, delivered through film clubs targeted at adolescent girls and young women in rural Senegal. We examine impacts on violence against women and girls and sexual and reproductive health. Results show C’est la vie! improved knowledge on both domains three months after film clubs ended, as well as violence-related attitudes nine months later, however, had no impact on behaviors. We investigate design components intended to strengthen impacts, generally finding no additional impacts from post-screening discussions, engaging men, and podcasts. Our findings suggest that edutainment is an engaging way to reach viewers on sensitive themes, however more evidence is needed on how to effectively deliver edutainment content for sustained behavior change at scale.

Year published

2026

Authors

Dione, Malick; Heckert, Jessica; Hidrobo, Melissa; le Port, Agnes; Peterman, Amber; Seye, Moustapha

Citation

Dione, Malick; Heckert, Jessica; Hidrobo, Melissa; le Port, Agnes; Peterman, Amber; and Seye, Moustapha. 2026. C’est la vie!: Mixed impacts of an edutainment television series in West Africa. Journal of Development Economics 182(June 2026): 103748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2026.103748

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Education; Television; Mass Media; Impact Assessment; Social Impact Assessment; Randomized Controlled Trials; Violence; Health; Gender-based Violence; Reproductive Health; Adolescents

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2026.103748 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

The effects of cash and group therapy in the context of conflict: Evidence from a randomized evaluation in Ethiopia

2026Hidrobo, Melissa; Alderman, Harold; Deyessa, Negussie; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kalva, Parthu; Leight, Jessica; Mulford, Michael; Tambet, Heleene
Details

The effects of cash and group therapy in the context of conflict: Evidence from a randomized evaluation in Ethiopia

The prevalence of depression remains high in low-income contexts, particularly those affected by conflict. This paper reports on a randomized controlled trial conducted in rural Ethiopia assessing the effects of a psychological (group therapy) intervention delivered by non-specialist health staff, as well as a large one-time cash transfer delivered post-therapy. The trial includes three arms comparing group therapy, cash, and both jointly to a status quo control within a sample of individuals reporting some depressive symptoms or functional impairment at baseline. The study occurred between 2022 and 2024, during a period of active armed conflict. Findings show that sixteen months post-baseline, there are no persistent positive effects of group therapy alone; cash alone improves time use and economic outcomes. Group therapy and cash jointly improve psychosocial skills, time use, and economic outcomes, and in areas not affected by conflict, the joint intervention also improves mental health.

Year published

2026

Authors

Hidrobo, Melissa; Alderman, Harold; Deyessa, Negussie; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kalva, Parthu; Leight, Jessica; Mulford, Michael; Tambet, Heleene

Citation

Hidrobo, Melissa; Alderman, Harold; Deyessa, Negussie; Gilligan, Daniel O.; et al. 2026. The effects of cash and group therapy in the context of conflict: Evidence from a randomized evaluation in Ethiopia. Journal of Development Economics 181(April 2026): 103724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2026.103724

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Poverty; Armed Conflicts; Cash Transfers; Social Protection; Group Approaches; Mental Health; Project Evaluation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2026.103724 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

When caseloads matter: Community health workers, home visits, and child survival in Mali
Research Post
 | 
February 06, 2026

When caseloads matter: Community health workers, home visits, and child survival in Mali

By James Allen IV

What works best when resources are stretched?

An elevation gap: Why children at high altitudes are more likely to experience stunting
Research Post
 | 
December 12, 2025

An elevation gap: Why children at high altitudes are more likely to experience stunting

By Taddese Zerfu

The heavy toll of thin air and poverty.

Growth monitoring and promotion as an opportunity to improve early childhood development
Research Post
 | 
November 13, 2025

Growth monitoring and promotion as an opportunity to improve early childhood development

By Leila M. Larson, Edward A. Frongillo, Rebecca Brander, Marie Ruel, and Jef L. Leroy

Leveraging a widespread practice.

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Events

Beyond Treatment: Integrated Strategies to Prevent Child Wasting and post-treatment Relapse
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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April 1, 2026, 9:00 – 10:30 am

Beyond Treatment: Integrated Strategies to Prevent Child Wasting and post-treatment Relapse

Child wasting affects an estimated 42 million children at any given time, but over a year, between 240 and 295 million episodes of wasting occur.  Wasting, including severe wasting, is associated with approximately 850,000 child deaths annually and have livelong consequences for child health and development. Although effective outpatient treatment protocols exist, coverage remains below 30% […]

Dissemination Seminar on Consumer & Food Environment Research in Ethiopia
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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February 24, 2026, 3:00 – 4:30 pm

Dissemination Seminar on Consumer & Food Environment Research in Ethiopia

Globalization, urbanization, and economic growth are rapidly reshaping food environments, driving shifts in dietary patterns and increasing the risk of nutritional challenges. The CGIAR Science Program on Better Diets and Nutrition (BDN) aims to address these issues by stimulating both the demand for and supply of sustainable nutritious foods. This seminar will feature BDN’s work […]

The Economy-wide Impacts of School Meal Programs in Ghana and Malawi
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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December 10, 2025, 10:00 – 11:00 am

The Economy-wide Impacts of School Meal Programs in Ghana and Malawi

This webinar will explore the latest global evidence on how school feeding programs drive broad-based returns: boosting education, enhancing health outcomes, supporting local agriculture, and strengthening national development as a follow-up to episode 1 of this series. The session will showcase research from Malawi and Ghana, evaluating the economy-wide impacts of both nation’s national school […]

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News

July 31, 2025 | Press Release

New study finds behavior change communication and nutrition supplements can help prevent relapse from child wasting

The study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, used longitudinal data from two cluster-randomized trials in Burkina Faso and Mali, the PROMIS project.

February 04, 2025 | Press Release

Solving global hunger: New report highlights school meal programs as drivers of change

School meal programs don’t just ensure children go to school and stay fed — they are a powerful force for change in communities and food systems worldwide. According to the results of the latest Global Survey of School Meal Programs© conducted by Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF), school meal programs can increase demand for nutritious […]

November 12, 2024 | Press Release

New Study: Short-term humanitarian aid alone insufficient to address severe deterioration in employment, income, access to essential services and food security.

Economic revival, social protection, and infrastructure rehabilitation are critical for urban recovery in Sudan. Nairobi, 12 November 2024 – Eighteen months of war have deeply affected urban households in Sudan: 31 percent have been displaced, full-time employment has plummeted by half, over 70 percent of the urban households in Sudan had all or some of […]

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Our experts

Deanna Olney

Deanna Olney

Director, Nutrition, Diets, and Health (NDH), Nutrition,
Diets, and Health

Thomas Assefa

Thomas Assefa

Associate Research Fellow, Innovation
Policy and Scaling

Erick Boy

Erick Boy

Chief Nutritionist, HarvestPlus, Innovation
Policy and Scaling

Derek Headey

Derek Headey

Senior Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Manuel Hernandez

Manuel Hernandez

Senior Research Fellow, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions, Latin America and the Caribbean

Razin Kabir

Razin Kabir

Senior Program Manager, Poverty,
Gender, and Inclusion