Policies and programmes to improve preconception nutrition in South Asia
Summary: The health and health behaviours of women before conception significantly influence maternal and child health outcomes. Despite growing evidence supporting preconception nutrition care, data on the implementation of related policies and programmes remains limited. This paper reviews public...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772368225000605 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849313296862150656 |
|---|---|
| author | Avishek Hazra Tashi Choedon Monica Shrivastav Raj Kumar Verma Cheshta Gulati Dhammica Rowel Abner Daniel Preetu Mishra Naveen Paudyal Naureen Arshad Muhammad Salman Wisal Khan Khadija Khalif Osman Warfa Muhammad Amin Ahmadwali Aminee Ireen Akhter Chowdhury Kinley Dorji Indrani Chakma Aishath Shahula Ahmed Hari Prasad Pokhrel Danielle Schoenaker Jane Hirst Ranadip Chowdhury Naomi M. Saville Faith Miller Zivai Murira Vani Sethi |
| author_facet | Avishek Hazra Tashi Choedon Monica Shrivastav Raj Kumar Verma Cheshta Gulati Dhammica Rowel Abner Daniel Preetu Mishra Naveen Paudyal Naureen Arshad Muhammad Salman Wisal Khan Khadija Khalif Osman Warfa Muhammad Amin Ahmadwali Aminee Ireen Akhter Chowdhury Kinley Dorji Indrani Chakma Aishath Shahula Ahmed Hari Prasad Pokhrel Danielle Schoenaker Jane Hirst Ranadip Chowdhury Naomi M. Saville Faith Miller Zivai Murira Vani Sethi |
| author_sort | Avishek Hazra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: The health and health behaviours of women before conception significantly influence maternal and child health outcomes. Despite growing evidence supporting preconception nutrition care, data on the implementation of related policies and programmes remains limited. This paper reviews public policies and programmes delivering preconception nutrition interventions in eight South Asian countries, targeting married pre-pregnant women aged 15–49 years and identifies the systems bottlenecks in programme implementation. Most countries, except Sri Lanka, lack universal programmes for health and nutrition screening, provision of essential micronutrients, counselling on healthy eating and treatment for at-risk women. Even in countries, where supportive policies exist, implementation of comprehensive nutrition services for pre-pregnant women faces significant bottlenecks across six health system building blocks. Addressing these barriers is critical to improving intervention effectiveness, programme implementation, and informed decision-making. Further testing of a proposed comprehensive algorithm for preconception nutrition in diverse country contexts across South Asia is necessary. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-798c7696e8794bb98be18b58670d98dd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2772-3682 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia |
| spelling | doaj-art-798c7696e8794bb98be18b58670d98dd2025-08-20T03:52:48ZengElsevierThe Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia2772-36822025-05-013610058910.1016/j.lansea.2025.100589Policies and programmes to improve preconception nutrition in South AsiaAvishek Hazra0Tashi Choedon1Monica Shrivastav2Raj Kumar Verma3Cheshta Gulati4Dhammica Rowel5Abner Daniel6Preetu Mishra7Naveen Paudyal8Naureen Arshad9Muhammad Salman10Wisal Khan11Khadija Khalif Osman Warfa12Muhammad Amin13Ahmadwali Aminee14Ireen Akhter Chowdhury15Kinley Dorji16Indrani Chakma17Aishath Shahula Ahmed18Hari Prasad Pokhrel19Danielle Schoenaker20Jane Hirst21Ranadip Chowdhury22Naomi M. Saville23Faith Miller24Zivai Murira25Vani Sethi26Population Council Consulting, New Delhi, India; Corresponding author.Population Council Consulting, New Delhi, IndiaPopulation Council Consulting, New Delhi, IndiaPopulation Council, New Delhi, IndiaPopulation Council Consulting, New Delhi, IndiaUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Sri LankaUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Sri LankaUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), IndiaUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), NepalUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), PakistanUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), PakistanUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), PakistanUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), AfghanistanUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), AfghanistanUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), AfghanistanUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), BangladeshUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), BhutanUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), BhutanUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), MaldivesDepartment of Public Health, Ministry of Health, BhutanSchool of Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom; MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom; NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United KingdomThe George Institute for Global Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, United KingdomSociety for Applied Studies, New Delhi, IndiaInstitute for Global Health, University College London, London, United KingdomInstitute for Global Health, University College London, London, United KingdomUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Regional Office for South Asia, Kathmandu, NepalUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Regional Office for South Asia, Kathmandu, NepalSummary: The health and health behaviours of women before conception significantly influence maternal and child health outcomes. Despite growing evidence supporting preconception nutrition care, data on the implementation of related policies and programmes remains limited. This paper reviews public policies and programmes delivering preconception nutrition interventions in eight South Asian countries, targeting married pre-pregnant women aged 15–49 years and identifies the systems bottlenecks in programme implementation. Most countries, except Sri Lanka, lack universal programmes for health and nutrition screening, provision of essential micronutrients, counselling on healthy eating and treatment for at-risk women. Even in countries, where supportive policies exist, implementation of comprehensive nutrition services for pre-pregnant women faces significant bottlenecks across six health system building blocks. Addressing these barriers is critical to improving intervention effectiveness, programme implementation, and informed decision-making. Further testing of a proposed comprehensive algorithm for preconception nutrition in diverse country contexts across South Asia is necessary.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772368225000605Preconception nutritionPreconception careWomen's nutritional care and supportPolicies and programsSouth Asia |
| spellingShingle | Avishek Hazra Tashi Choedon Monica Shrivastav Raj Kumar Verma Cheshta Gulati Dhammica Rowel Abner Daniel Preetu Mishra Naveen Paudyal Naureen Arshad Muhammad Salman Wisal Khan Khadija Khalif Osman Warfa Muhammad Amin Ahmadwali Aminee Ireen Akhter Chowdhury Kinley Dorji Indrani Chakma Aishath Shahula Ahmed Hari Prasad Pokhrel Danielle Schoenaker Jane Hirst Ranadip Chowdhury Naomi M. Saville Faith Miller Zivai Murira Vani Sethi Policies and programmes to improve preconception nutrition in South Asia The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia Preconception nutrition Preconception care Women's nutritional care and support Policies and programs South Asia |
| title | Policies and programmes to improve preconception nutrition in South Asia |
| title_full | Policies and programmes to improve preconception nutrition in South Asia |
| title_fullStr | Policies and programmes to improve preconception nutrition in South Asia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Policies and programmes to improve preconception nutrition in South Asia |
| title_short | Policies and programmes to improve preconception nutrition in South Asia |
| title_sort | policies and programmes to improve preconception nutrition in south asia |
| topic | Preconception nutrition Preconception care Women's nutritional care and support Policies and programs South Asia |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772368225000605 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT avishekhazra policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT tashichoedon policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT monicashrivastav policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT rajkumarverma policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT cheshtagulati policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT dhammicarowel policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT abnerdaniel policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT preetumishra policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT naveenpaudyal policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT naureenarshad policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT muhammadsalman policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT wisalkhan policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT khadijakhalifosmanwarfa policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT muhammadamin policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT ahmadwaliaminee policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT ireenakhterchowdhury policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT kinleydorji policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT indranichakma policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT aishathshahulaahmed policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT hariprasadpokhrel policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT danielleschoenaker policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT janehirst policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT ranadipchowdhury policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT naomimsaville policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT faithmiller policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT zivaimurira policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia AT vanisethi policiesandprogrammestoimprovepreconceptionnutritioninsouthasia |