We aim to evaluate the impact of national nutritional intervention programs in pregnancy and childhood on the nutritional status in a later period, among adolescent’s girls, and women using advanced statistical techniques using national survey datasets of India.

In this study we will develop an online tool to optimize using linear programming, the ICDS supplementary nutrient program to meet the nutrient requirements of children aged 6 to 60 months, who are beneficiaries of the program. The tool is being developed with data collected from all states of India in collaboration with 6 regional satellite centers. The tool once developed will help policy makers decide the foods and their quantities that can be included in the ICDS program within the constraints of budgetary allocations.

Develop a framework for the evaluation of the impact of supplementary nutrition through ICDS and MDM in childhood on nutritional status of adolescent girls 15-19 y using Bayesian hierarchical model utilizing national survey data sets such as National Family Health Survey and National Sample Survey. Derive bias-corrected and overdispersion corrected estimates of nutritional status such as stunting, thinness, and anemia in adolescent girls aged 15-19 y using NFHS 4 data.

In this project we will Quantify regional variations for undernutrition among children under 5 years using geo-spatial analysis and identify factors associated with such regional variations of under nutrition in India. particularly stunting and wasting. We will also utilize HBGDki datasets to identity household, maternal, child and regional characteristics related to stunting and wasting using multilevel modelling. We have developed interactive tool to compute the amount of ICDS THR foods required to meet select nutrient intake gap for children 1 to 5 years ( https://datatools.sjri.res.in/ICDS/ ). Another optimization tool for individual raw food consumption is ( https://datatools.sjri.res.in/DOT/ ).

Stable isotopic techniques are used to quantify breast milk intake by infants using the dose to mother technique. The current protocol recommended by IAEA is 7days saliva sampling protocol. We are investigating the validity of a proposed shortened protocol of 3 days sampling using a field study. In addition, using simulation techniques we evaluate the validity of the assumptions in the breast milk intake calculation and the implications on the classification of exclusive breast feeding using Bayesian approach.

To evaluate the role of protein, fat, and vitamin B12 intake on time trend and geospatial distribution of child undernutrition. The geospatial analysis examined the potential impact of cash transfer on changes in stunting at subdistrict level. This study will examine the impact of PM2.5 and its components on child undernutrition and the impact of dietary intake of certain nutrients on this impact.

There is a need for understanding the complex inter-linkages between agriculture, markets, and nutrition. The benefits of increasing agricultural output may not have a local trickle- down effect and might not reach the population most in need. To improve nutritional status, these linkages must be inclusive and work well at a localized level; accessibility, affordability and availability of foods are key. This is particularly relevant in Indian, because the burden of malnutrition continues to be high, particularly in Bihar. In the ongoing study of “Production and consumption of quality foods in Bihar” funded by BMGF the focus is on quality foods same as that in the case of this application. The focus is on consumption of pulses, milk, meat, and fruits and green leafy vegetables (quality foods). Currently, very little is known about the pathways between consumption and production. The primary detailed data generated in the Bihar project is expected to identify the factors that influence the performance of the linkage from consumption to production, including farmers, consumers, markets and government policies. One of the objectives is to examine the consumption production data for quality foods using secondary data as in the case of this application.

Development of a portal to report crop production food and nutrient intake, nutritional status of India. Secondary data from National surveys and other governmental sources were used. State and district level estimates are available. This portal also had a simulation tab to estimate the level of nutrients to be added to food vehicle to meet nutrient requirements of the population of India. A data repository of all nutrition and health related survey data was built along with National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India.

Study to identify gaps in delivery of government programs targeted for pregnant women, adolescents, and young children in the states of Rajasthan and Maharashtra and to develop interventions to improve the status of stunting and anemia in these states. This study has been funded by TATA Trusts. Lack of knowledge about health and supplementary nutrition and distance to health facility were identified as the major demand side factors supply side gaps. Irregular supplies were the biggest supply side gap.

This project was a follow up of children born to mothers in the St. John’s pregnancy cohort to examine inter-generational effects of stunting. This study was funded by the Harvard Centre for Population and Developmental Studies, Boston, USA. This study involved the compilation of data from two different studies and their analysis. Stunting and wasting in children were found to be not inter-generational in this cohort. However, there was very good agreement between reported and measured birthweights, and we observed that the reported birthweights were clustered around the cut off 2500 gms and had greater odds of being misclassified as low birthweight.

This study uses stable isotopes such as deuterium and oxygen 18 to measure breast milk intake by infants and the body composition of infants and their mothers. This a doctoral project funded by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria. Under this project we have proposed validate the questionnaire for infant feeding against stable isotopic methods and to develop methods to assess measurement error of breast milk using the dose to mother technique. There was misclassification of exclusive breast feeding by reporting. It was also observed that breast milk intake was associated with child growth.

Avahan, the India AIDS Initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been recently completed. The Centre hospitalier affilié universitaire de Québec (CHA) is a major Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grantee for the monitoring & evaluation of the Avahan intervention. St. John’s research institute is a sub-grantee of this project. The goal of CHARME-India II was to assess HIV transmission dynamics and the collective impact of all HIV prevention programming in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka (two high prevalence states of India), and enhance relevant analytical capacity within India. The project involved capacity building in India on Multi-level modelling and development of multi-level models for impact evaluation. Components of the intervention were found to be effective in not increasing the burden of HIV in female sex workers in India.