Effect of nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions with participatory videos and women’s group meetings on maternal and child nutritional outcomes in rural Odisha, India (UPAVAN trial): a four-arm, observer-blind, cluster-randomised controlled trial

Almost a quarter of the world’s undernourished people live in India. We tested the effects of three nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) interventions on maternal and child nutrition in India.We did a parallel, four-arm, observer-blind, cluster-randomised trial in Keonjhar district, Odisha, India. A cluster was one or more villages with a combined minimum population of 800 residents. The clusters were allocated 1:1:1:1 to a control group or an intervention group of fortnightly women’s groups meetings and household visits over 32 months. Outcomes were assessed in children and mothers through cross-sectional surveys at baseline and at endline, 36 months later. Analyses were by intention to treat. Women’s groups using combinations of NSA videos, nutrition-specific videos, and PLA cycle meetings improved maternal and child diet quality in rural Odisha, India. These components have been implemented separately in several low-income settings; effects could be increased by scaling up together.

Authors: Suneetha Kadiyala, Helen Harris-Fry, Ronali Pradhan, Satyanarayan Mohanty, Shibanath Padhan, Suchitra Rath, Philip James, Emily Fivian, Peggy Koniz-Booher, Nirmala Nair, Hassan Haghparast-Bidgoli, Naba Kishor Mishra, Shibanand Rath, Emma Beaumont, Heather Danton, Sneha Krishnan, Manoj Parida, Meghan O’Hearn, Abhinav Kumar, Avinash Upadhyay, Prasanta Tripathy, Jolene Skordis, Joanna Sturgess, Diana Elbourne, Audrey Prost, Elizabeth Allen