Project Lead(s): Zulfiqar Bhutta
Pakistan is one of 10 countries with the highest number of undernourished mothers, and children with high rates of fetal under-nutrition and low birth weight. Many children do not meeting their developmental potential by the age of 5. This exposure to early adversity has serious repercussions for subsequent growth, cognitive development, school readiness and educational achievement and could potentially impact on economic growth and development. Early nutrition intervention in the first 1000 days of life may be able to improve longer term human capital. This project aims to fill a major policy gap in Pakistan with capture and follow up of newborn and young infants enrolled nutrition trials to understand longer term impacts on growth, developmental outcomes and school performance in order to advocate for more evidence based early nutrition interventions for at risk children in the country.