VAD IN NIGER NE situation analysis

The setting

Six rural villages• Most with gardens• Two with health posts• All have a butcher’s shop• All have a small market selling vegetables

Main occupation• Agriculture / horticulture (both men & women)• Men are also “businessmen”

Socio-economic status (not too bad)• More than half eat meat once a week• About half the households have a donkey.

The nutrition issue

These groups were known to be at risk of VAD:

• three quarters of pregnant women• two thirds of nursing women• nearly half of children aged 13-16 months• 62% of children aged 37-72 months

Aims of the situation analysis

The situation analysis aimed to explore …..• the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the

population on general diet & vitamin A-rich foods

• the resources and possibilities (foods available, possibilities of increasing supply)

• the constraints (cost, acceptability, seasonality).

….. and to discuss the best ways forward.

1° Step: Literature review

• The project team read the available reports and other documents.

• They also consulted national experts and commissioned food composition studies.

Preliminary findings 1Foods available to fill the gap

• Fresh green leaves, freshly cooked: available only in the rainy season. Dried leaves not a good source of VA.

• Red peppers are hot, so the amount consumed cannot increase much.

• Mangoes are seasonal and expensive.• Liver is easily absorbed, available all year, also gives folate and

iron. Most villages have good supplies.• Pumpkin and squash: little information on availability.

NB. To absorb VA from plant foods, some oil or fat is needed. However there is little fat in villagers’ meals.

Preliminary findings 2Extending production of DGLVS

Production of fresh DGLVs could be extended by • growing leaves for home consumption in dry-season

gardens (as well as cash crops)• growing a second sowing of squash, bean leaves and

red sorrel (new practice)• growing moringa and harvesting every 2 weeks (but

needs year-round watering) (new practice)• gathering wild leaf seeds (e.g. amaranth) and sowing

broadcast in the dry season.

Preliminary recommendations

The project decided:1. To promote the consumption of:• liver• dark green leafy vegetables, with added oil

2. To explore pumpkin production3. To promote increased production of green

leaves using existing practices (dry-season gardens & wild seeds)

Next step: Planning the community

enquiry

Deciding• what to find out• who to talk to and how• what questions to ask

What to find out

The team decided to explore the main players’ knowledge, attitudes, practices, perceptions, resources, constraints and influences re:• Diet - general and of specific groups• VAD • Liver • DGLVs

Who to talk to and how

The team aimed to talk to the groups in the communities most affected and most involved in the production, supply and consumption of the targeted foods.

They decided how they would gather the information (e.g. observation, interview, focus groups, questionnaires, data records).

What questions to ask

The team produced questions for the groups in question.

They pre-tested them to make sure that they were short, single, simple, clear and neutral, and that they were effective in opening up discussion and gathering information.

Next step: carrying out

the community enquiry

The project team• decided how to sample the target population• trained interlocutors/focus group facilitators• organized and carried out the enquiry• cleaned the data• agreed on the findings and circulated them.

Findings

This is what they found out

• about diet and VAD• about liver• about DGLVs

Findings 1: Diet and VAD

The community enquiry found that: 1. Men and women place a high value on getting full rather

than on eating foods for their nutritional value.2. Both men and women have little knowledge of nutrition

needs of high-risk groups.3. No special diet is followed during pregnancy and lactation

except that women eat more beans to encourage milk production

4. No special diet is followed for children under three: they are expected to feed themselves and eat adult food as soon as they are able.

5. Diarrhoea, night blindness and low birth weight are associated with poor diet, but not with specific food lacks.

Findings 2: Liver

The community enquiry found that:• Liver is usually purchased by men as a snack for

women and children. Very small quantities are bought. It is seen as expensive.

• Liver is seen as a “special” food, associated with curing illness, night blindness and various rituals. To “cure” night blindness a small piece is held between the teeth for a while, then either swallowed or thrown away.

• Plenty of liver is available in the village.

Findings 3: Green leaves

The community enquiry found that:• Everyone likes dark green leaves. They are

associated with good health.• They are eaten often, fresh in the rainy season,

cooked and served cold with oil and spices, and dried in sauces the rest of the year.

• About half the greens are bought and half are home-grown or gathered.

• Extending the growing season would mean displacing cash crops from dry-season gardens.

Next steps

• Formulating objectives• Planning the intervention• Deciding on baselines• Establishing intervention and control groups• Carrying out the intervention

End of story!