Animal Source Foods and Child Cognitive Development: A USAID Success Story of University Research to Private Sector Implementation
Event Information
Animal source foods (ASF), which contain high concentrations of complete protein and readily-available micronutrients, can make a strong positive impact on children in developing countries. At this seminar, Montague Demment, former Director of the Global Livestock CRSP, discussed a series of USAID-funded studies and projects that have demonstrated success in improving children’s diet quality and cognitive development through greater access to animal source foods. He lead a discussion on the importance of ASF and the sustainability of activities after USAID involvement ends.
Early work by the Nutrition CRSP in the 1980s suggested a significant relationship between ASF and cognitive performance in a broad survey study in Egypt, Kenya, and Mexico; however, these results were not widely accepted at the time because there was no corresponding intervention study. In response, the Global Livestock CRSP supported the Child Nutrition Project that fed different supplemental diets to school children in rural Kenya. ASF consumption was associated with higher intelligence scores, better school performance, and greater leadership behaviors. A follow-up GL-CRSP study – the ENAM Project (Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Food Management) - enabled study groups in Ghana to increase the quality of their children’s diets, save money, and become strong social and economic forces within their communities.
Speakers
Montague Demment
Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU)