Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Benefits of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements for child nutrition and survival warrant moving to scale

Nature Food volume 4, pages 130–132 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Better nutrition is critical for protecting children from disease and death in the short term, and for building human capital and life opportunities in the long term. Scaling up effective actions to improve child nutrition is more urgent than ever given that the current food and nutrition crisis is linked to rising child undernutrition, which drives 45% of deaths among young children1. Although recent commitments to increase funding for the early detection and treatment of child wasting are encouraging, we argue that prevention of wasting and other forms of child undernutrition using proven interventions should also be prioritized.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Black, R. E. et al. Lancet 382, 427–451 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Heidkamp, R. A. et al. Lancet 397, 1400–1418 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Dewey, K. G., Stewart, C. P., Wessells, K. R., Prado, E. L. & Arnold, C. D. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 114 (Suppl. 1), 3S–14S (2021).

  4. UNICEF Supply Catalogue. Fortified Spread 20g, Sachet 20g/CAR-600 (UNICEF, December 2022); https://supply.unicef.org/s0000320.html

  5. Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (University of California, Davis, December 2022); https://sqlns.ucdavis.edu/

  6. Adams, K. P. et al. Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS) for Preventing Child Malnutrition, Improving Child Survival and Promoting Health Development. Part 2: Costs, Cost-Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness of Interventions that Include SQ-LNS (The World Bank, May 2022); https://go.nature.com/3iQ2R12

  7. Prado, E. L. et al. Lancet Glob. Health 7, e1398–e1413 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Arikpo, D., Edet, E. S., Chibuzor, M. T., Odey, F. & Caldwell, D. M. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011768.pub2 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Jeong, J., Franchett, E. E., Ramos de Oliveira, C. V., Rehmani, K. & Yousafzai, A. K. PLoS Med. 18, e1003602 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Suchdev, P. S., Jefferds, M. E. D., Ota, E., da Silva Lopes, K. & De-Regil, L. M. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD008959.pub3 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Dewey, K. G. et al. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 116, 1314–1333 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Dewey, K. G. et al. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 114 (Suppl. 1), 15S–42S (2021).

  13. Prado, E. L. et al. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 114 (Suppl. 1), 43S–67S (2021).

    Article  MathSciNet  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Wessells, K. R. et al. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 114 (Suppl. 1), 68S–94S (2021).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Stewart, C. P. et al. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 111, 207–218 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

S.K.B. was employed by the US Agency for International Development when the work for the current article was completed. The opinions and views expressed in this statement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the organizations with which they are affiliated.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Shawn K. Baker

    Present address: Helen Keller Intl, New York, NY, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutrition and Child Development, Programme Division, UNICEF, New York, NY, USA

    Victor M. Aguayo, Saul I. Guerrero Oteyza, Grainne Moloney & Linda Shaker-Berbari

  2. US Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington, DC, USA

    Shawn K. Baker

  3. Institute for Global Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Kathryn G. Dewey, Elizabeth L. Prado, Christine P. Stewart & K. Ryan Wessells

  4. Development Research Group, The World Bank Group, Washington, DC, USA

    Emanuela Galasso

  5. Nutrition Division, United Nations World Food Programme, Rome, Italy

    Abigail Perry & Saskia de Pee

  6. Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA, USA

    Zeina Sifri, Rahul Rawat & Alison Tumilowicz

  7. Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, US Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington, DC, USA

    Dina Aburmishan

  8. Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, The World Bank Group, Washington, DC, USA

    Meera Shekar

Authors
  1. Victor M. Aguayo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shawn K. Baker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kathryn G. Dewey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Emanuela Galasso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Abigail Perry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zeina Sifri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Dina Aburmishan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Saskia de Pee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Saul I. Guerrero Oteyza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Grainne Moloney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Elizabeth L. Prado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Rahul Rawat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Linda Shaker-Berbari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Meera Shekar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Christine P. Stewart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Alison Tumilowicz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. K. Ryan Wessells
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the conceptualization and writing of this statement. All authors have approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathryn G. Dewey.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

K.G.D., C.P.S. and K.R.W. received funding and travel support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to organize and attend the event referenced in this manuscript. Three of the authors (R.R., Z.S. and A.T.) are employees of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The other authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Aguayo, V.M., Baker, S.K., Dewey, K.G. et al. Benefits of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements for child nutrition and survival warrant moving to scale. Nat Food 4, 130–132 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00703-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00703-2

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing