Impact

Back to Our Impact Network

Global development is a conversation.

Impact is about concrete, measurable changes, for example, improving infant and young child feeding practices so that babies and infants grow and develop naturally and optimally. Impact can also mean longer-term systemic changes to evolve national systems.

At FHI Solutions we do both.

Our impact for mothers, infants, and young children Through Alive & Thrive we reach millions of women, babies, and young children.

Improving maternal infant and young child nutrition (MICYN) requires changing beliefs, attitudes and norms that have been embedded in culture and society. Together with our partners, we have developed and refined methods to positively shape feeding practices so that women and their babies benefit from better nutrition.

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COVID-19 response

Alive & Thrive and Irish Aid provided PPE care and breastfeeding support to 100 hospitals in Viet Nam, which were experiencing capacity constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In West Africa, COVID-19 constraints on the health system have created challenges for social behavior change programs for nutrition. In response, Alive & Thrive have developed a blended learning program, including online learning and coaching to equip program managers of government nutrition programs to apply proven approaches.

Throughout our programs we continue to work with communities, governments, and local partners to overcome challenges posed by COVID-19.

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Our mission is to find root cause solutions to system wide challenges.

Measuring diets for health

Intake provides technical assistance to support national or large-scale dietary surveys in Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, VietNam, and Zambia. Intake’s innovations – the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) and GDQS App – equip decision makers, innovators, and program implementers to innovate, design, and implement responsible policies and programs for public health, the economy, and environmental sustainability.

Building capacity of national systems

From household and community behaviour change to national policy making, we find leverage points in national systems to improve nutrition outcomes for everyone.

At Alive & Thrive, our recent impact includes:

Our impact in global development

Global development is changing. Over time, innovations have the potential to change investment flows. Our impact network is designed to connect sectors and people to share innovations that can be scaled. While we deliver direct results for communities, we also engage with decision-makers on global governance issues, such as how to move towards sustainable, equitable food systems and how investment in nutrition for girls and women supports COVID-19 economic recovery.

Did you know?
That mother’s milk contributes almost $4 trillion to the global economy? Until now, its value has never been considered.

Nutrition has the potential to bring high returns on investment and offers exciting opportunities for social impact investors

At the same time, our country work is helping countries move towards meeting World Health Assembly (WHA) 2025 targets on nutrition:

  • Reduce stunting, or short for age, in children under five.
  • Reduce low birth weight by 30%
  • Reduce anemia in women of reproductive age by 50%
  • Increase exclusive breastfeeding to at least 50%
  • Reduce childhood wasting to less than 5%