Improving the Odds for Ethiopia’s Children

Aided by a $7.3 million grant, the largest in its history, the Feinstein International Center at the Friedman School will conduct on-the-ground research aimed at breaking the centuries-old cycle of child hunger and malnutrition in Ethiopia by strengthening existing nutrition interventions.

Senior researcher Kate Sadler, an assistant professor, will lead a team working with families as well as Ethiopian policymakers, aid organizations and academics as part of a project directed by Save the Children and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

She says the team will try to pinpoint why treatment programs do not reach malnourished Ethiopian children early enough, leaving them susceptible to life-threatening diseases.

“Perhaps mothers are not familiar with the warning signs of malnutrition, or they are burdened by other family responsibilities,” she says. “If moderate acute malnutrition is caught in time, there are vaccinations, micronutrient-enriched foods and teachable infant feeding practices that can reverse the decline of nutrition and health in this group.”

The team is expected to begin its fieldwork early next year.