The Effectiveness of Nutritional Interventions Implemented through Lady Health Workers on the Reduction of Stunting in Children under 5 in Pakistan: The Difference-in-Difference Analysis

Abstract

In Pakistan, the 2018 National Nutrition Survey reported that 40% of children under five years old were stunted. This study assessed the effectiveness of nutritional supplementation in reducing stunting among children under five years old in two rural districts in Sindh, Pakistan. This was a mixed-method quasi-experimental study comprising intervention and control populations, with 3397 and 3277 children under five years old participating in the baseline and end-line surveys, respectively. The study areas were similar in terms of demographic and economic circumstances. In the intervention group, pregnant and lactating women (first six months post-partum) received wheat soy blend, children 6–23 months old received Wawamum (lipid-based supplement), and children 24–59 months old received micronutrient powders, all through lady health workers. This was underpinned by nutrition behaviour change communication for appropriate complementary feeding practices and hygiene promotion targeted at primary caregivers. The control group received no intervention. The impact was assessed using the difference-in-difference analysis with kernel propensity score matching to adjust the differences among the control and intervention populations. The overall DID analysis indicated that the intervention did not significantly reduce the prevalence of stunting (under 5 years) [DID = −5.1, p = 0.079]. The adjusted DID indicated a significant decrease of 13% [DID = −13.0, p = 0.001] in the number of stunted children 24–59 months of age at the endline survey. A significant reduction in underweight among children 24–59 months old was also observed (DID = −9.4%, p = 0.014). In conclusion, this evidence further establishes that nutrient uptake through an intervention for a short duration cannot effectively reduce stunting. It requires continuous nutritional supplementation for mothers during the pregnancy and an initial six months of lactation and then nutritional supplementation for children 6–59 months of age underpinned by effective behaviour change communication targeting mothers and other caregivers for improving complementary feeding practices and hygiene promotion.

Keywords

• nutrition
• Pakistan
• stunting prevention
• lipid-based nutrient supplements
• nutritional interventions
• programmatic review