"This report reviews the effectiveness of early childhood stimulation interventions in developing countries. The report aims to answer the questions: What works in terms of early stimulation for young children in developing countries? For whom and under what conditions do these programs work and why do they work. The report is divided into several sections. Firstly, a brief discussion of the importance of early stimulation for young children in developing countries is provided. Secondly, the methods used to identify and characterize studies are provided and a review of randomized or quasi-experimental trials is presented. Thirdly, a review of the evidence for who benefits most from early interventions is presented followed by a review of program characteristics that affect the success of interventions and an examination of potential mechanisms through which interventions achieve their effects. Finally, recommendations for practice and future research are provided"
IDB working paper series
This report summarises current global action and country progress towards prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), factors that support or hinder PMTCT scale-up, and issues that need to be addressed if scale-up is to be achieved
This report looks at factors that reduce women drug users’ access to health care including punitive policies, discrimination by police and health care providers, the intense social stigma attached to drug use by women, a preponderance of harm reduction and drug treatment programmes directed primarily toward men, an absence of sexual and reproductive health services for drug users, and poor access to effective outpatient drug treatment. Pregnant drug users are particularly vulnerable. In too many instances, they receive little or no accurate information about drug use during pregnancy or prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In some countries pregnant drug users are rejected by health care providers, threatened with criminal penalties or loss of parental rights, or coerced into having an abortion or abandoning their newborns to the state. Poor access to medication-assisted treatment jeopardises the pregnancies of opiate-dependent drug users. It includes recommendations for consideration when designing services for women drug users and also examines issues around policies to protect women's health
This report aims to clarify and refine existing UN guidance on HIV and infant feeding. It follows a previous technical consultation in 2000 and presents a summary of findings, conclusions and recommendations regarding HIV and Infant Feeding between 2000 and 2006
This report covers the main dilemmas and debates around HIV/AIDS and infant feeding practices. There is some focus on antiretrovirals and prevention of mother to child transmission, but sessions featured in the report mainly cover technical and progammatic issues, and the sharing of field experiences. The key themes are the issues of if and how to breastfeed, and confusion over unclear messages about infant feeding practices. Increasing access to information and voluntary counselling and testing is covered as well as community involvement and the perspective and role of breastfeeding supportive NGOs. Lessons learned are drawn upon and details of each working group on various subjects are documented. Research, monitoring and evaluation priorities are looked at, and there is a presentation of knowledge gaps and challenges for the future
"The Fourth Report on the World Nutrition Situation is part of a series of ACC/SCN reports initiated in the mid-1980s on the nutritional status of populations in developing countries. This report is built around the theme ‘nutrition throughout the life cycle’ This report highlights the size of the malnutrition problem and its consequences for human and economic development. It stresses the need to move ahead in creative partnerships. The Fourth Report provides evidence of contrasts - contrasts in the prevalence and trends of malnutrition, contrasts in actions taken, contrasts in progress made, and contrasts in the availability of data on the extent and causes of malnutrition"
This is a review that includes the definition, epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology and risk factors of persistent diarrhoea. It also addresses the protective properties of breastmilk, the effect of breastfeeding and breastmilk on diarrhoea and the nutritional treatment of persistent diarrhoea