The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and its Foundation, are opening new opportunities for collaboration between Academy members and communities worldwide with its global malnutrition projects.
Did you know?
- Worldwide, about one-third of children who die before 5 years old have malnutrition.
- One major consequence of malnutrition is stunting — low height for a child's age — which affects almost half of the children in Latin America.
- One in five stunting cases is due to poor growth in utero, which is a highly impactful time for good maternal nutrition.
Academy and Foundation Global Projects and Fellowships
With support from the Academy's Foundation, global nutrition fellows are advancing malnutrition initiatives with innovative research related to hunger, food security and malnutrition. Supporting other countries to ensure that a workforce exists to identify and treat malnutrition at the population and the individual levels is an emerging area of focus for the Academy as we transition into the next century. Solutions for malnutrition include strategies to increase access to food and water through sustainable agriculture and food production as well as community-based delivery models focused on public health, including continued development with the Nutrition Care Process Terminology (NCPT).
Global research project fellows also have led the development and evaluation of antenatal nutrition curriculum for Gardens for Health International in Rwanda as well as a family-based nutrition and garden intervention pilot study in rural Guatemala. In addition, the Foundation has funded a fellow to work with the Duke Center for International Development to map intervention and services targeting chronic malnutrition in community settings in Guatemala with the outcome of developing a policy report.
Other projects range from grassroots efforts to policy-level impact. One example includes the No Hungry Homes Project (previously Hunger Free Communities) that has created and tested the implementation of a prioritization tool for food security interventions in the community setting. Currently, there are two pilot sites in Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, and Mumbai, India. The Hunger Free Communities fellow has worked to expand Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Health Informatics Infrastructure (ANDHII) features to allow for offline capabilities through a survey app used in a public health settings. The Academy's Global Food and Nutrition Resource Hub, developed through an educational grant from the Foundation, houses open-access resources for practitioners, including relevant and effective international nutrition education materials for Latin America and malnutrition.
For more information, visit the Foundation Fellowship Program.
Events and Opportunities
Learn and connect with colleagues at events focusing on global malnutrition.
Going Global: Collaborative Approaches to Solve Malnutrition
Date: Wednesday, September 26
Time: Noon to 1 p.m. (Central time)
The webinar series is offered as a complementary educational opportunity for members and will earn 1.0 CPEU for participation. Live attendance is limited to the first 1,000 registrants. Groups can participate using one registration and all those in attendance will receive CPEU. If you are not able to attend live, you can listen to a recorded version of the event.
@eatrightPRO Twitter Chat
Join the Academy and experts in global malnutrition on Thursday, September 27, at noon CST as we host a discussion exploring the relationship between hunger, food security and malnutrition in global populations.
Learn more at FNCE®
For a complete listing of FNCE® sessions and details, visit eatrightFNCE.org.
Attend this session to learn more on the systems approach to addressing malnutrition in global settings:
- Session 343. Expanding Horizons: RDN Fellows Advancing Strategies to Address Global Malnutrition, Sunday, October 21, from 10 - 11:30 a.m.
Additional Training and Education Opportunities
Nutrition-Focused Physical Exam Hands-on Training Workshop
The Academy offers the Nutrition-Focused Physical Exam in-person training workshop for registered dietitian nutritionists to accurately identify and nutrition diagnose for adult patients with, or at risk for, malnutrition. While a nutrition-focused physical exam is only one component of the nutrition assessment, it can provide necessary supportive data. Pocket guides for both pediatric and adult nutrition-focused physical exams are available at eatrightSTORE.org.
Access Past FNCE® Sessions
FNCE® attendees have complimentary 24/7 on-demand access to the recordings, PowerPoint presentations and printable handouts for all concurrent sessions (as released for inclusion) based on the year(s) and day(s) of verified attendance. Didn't attend FNCE®? Access to all recorded programs is available at a discounted member rate and can be purchased directly from the FNCE® On-Demand site.
- Making a Difference in the World: Kids Eat Right Campaign – Session 313 – FNCE® 2017
Child malnutrition is a global health concern. Societies are dealing with increasing obesity prevalence, while still managing to fight hunger and nutritional deficiencies. The Kids Eat Right campaign has the objective to provide nutrition education to children and their families. This Academy Foundation initiative is promoted internationally by the American Overseas Dietetic Association (AODA). Since Kids Eat Right International (KERI) was initiated, several AODA members have applied those resources in their countries. The results of the implementation are discussed and strategies provided to guide nutrition professionals to apply education resources in global contexts.
Looking for More Research?
- Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics malnutrition topic collection
Academy Foundation Heroes
Visit the Foundation's website to read more about members who have made significant contributions with special populations and malnutrition, along with more information on the Foundation's international awards, grants and directory of opportunities.