Briefing Paper Summary:

DFID’s new nutrition paper An update of The neglected Crisis of Undernutrition: Evidence for Action (2012) reviews new research on the causes, consequences and potential actions to reduce maternal and child undernutrition undertaken since its original publication in 2009. The paper will help the UK develop more effective nutrition programmes to reach 20 million pregnant women and children under the age of five in developing countries.

This paper is informed by targeted searches of electronic journals and online databases (ScienceDirect, PubMed, the Cochrane library, Oxford journals, The Lancet, the BMJ and Cambridge journals). A search was also conducted for data and reports from the World Bank, UNICEF, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other relevant reports or position papers by governmental and non-governmental organisations and international bodies. Where possible this paper draws on systematic reviews, peer-reviewed journal articles, meta-analyses and Randomised Control Trials (RCTs). Some of the new and emerging areas are less well researched and rely on organisational reports pending new research.