Programming Guidance: Improving Young Children’s Diets
UNICEF's Programming Guidance for Improving Young Children's Diets During the Complementary Feeding Period
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This document details programming guidance to support the work of governments and partners for improving complementary feeding. It describes recent evidence on improving complementary feeding, explores the determinants and drivers of young children’s diets and presents Action Frameworks for delivering nutrition results for children through the food, health, WASH and social protection systems. It also provides guidance on monitoring and evaluating complementary feeding programmes and outcomes. The guidance highlights the determinants and drivers of poor diets in young children, emphasising the role of adequate food, services and practices. Poor diets are determined by the adequacy of foods, which is in turn driven by the availability, access, affordability and desirability of such foods. Equally, the availability, affordability, quality and use of health, nutrition, WASH and social protection services influence the quality of children’s diets. The feeding, care and hygiene practices of caregivers are key determinants of the quality of young children’s diets. These practices are driven by caregivers’ knowledge and time, household dynamics and social norms.