Scaling up resilient agricultural practices, technologies and services in the vulnerable areas of India

The brochure contains details of a project intervention funded by USAID, to scale out the Climate-Smart Villages in three Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh

Mapping India's Energy Policy 2022

Carefully designed energy support measures—subsidies, public utilities' investments, and public finance institutions' lending—and government's energy revenues play a key role in India's transition to clean energy and reaching net-zero emissions by 2070. Looking at how the Government of India has supported different types of energy from FY 2014 to FY 2021, the study aims to improve transparency, create accountability, and encourage a responsible shift in support away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy.Mapping India's Energy Subsidies 2022 covers India's subsidies to fossil fuels, electricity transmission and distribution, renewable energy, and electric vehicles between fiscal year (FY) 2014 and FY 2021.We found that fossil fuels continue to receive far more subsidies than clean energy in India. This disparity became even more pronounced from FY 2020 to FY 2021, going from 7.3 times to 9 times the amount of subsidies to renewables

COVID-19 Disrupted Provision and Utilization of Health and Nutrition Services in Uttar Pradesh, India: Insights From Service Providers, Household Phone Surveys, and Administrative Data

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may substantially affect health systems, but little primary evidence is available on disruption of health and nutrition services. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to 1) determine the extent of disruption in provision and utilization of health and nutrition services induced by the pandemic in Uttar Pradesh, India; and 2) identify how adaptations were made to restore service provision in response to the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted longitudinal surveys with frontline workers (FLWs, n = 313) and mothers of children \u3c 2 y old (n = 659) in December 2019 (in-person) and July 2020 (by phone). We also interviewed block-level managers and obtained administrative data. We examined changes in service provision and utilization using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank tests. RESULTS: Compared with prepandemic, service provision reduced substantially during lockdown (83-98 percentage points, pp), except for home visits and take-home rations (∼ 30%). Most FLWs (68%-90%) restored service provision in July 2020, except for immunization and hot cooked meals (\u3c 10%). Administrative data showed similar patterns of disruption and restoration. FLW fears, increased workload, inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), and manpower shortages challenged service provision. Key adaptations made to provide services were delivering services to beneficiary homes (∼ 40%-90%), social distancing (80%), and using PPE (40%-50%) and telephones for communication (∼ 20%). On the demand side, service utilization reduced substantially (40-80 pp) during the lockdown, but about half of mothers received home visits and food supplementation. Utilization for most services did not improve after the lockdown, bearing the challenges of limited travel (30%), nonavailability of services (26%), and fear of catching the virus when leaving the house (22%) or meeting service providers (14%). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 disrupted the provision and use of health and nutrition services in Uttar Pradesh, India, despite adaptations to restore services. Strengthening logistical support, capacity enhancement, performance management, and demand creation are needed to improve service provision and utilization during and post-COVID-19

Complex body size trends in the evolution of sloths (Xenarthra: Pilosa)

Background Extant sloths present an evolutionary conundrum in that the two living genera are superficially similar (small-bodied, folivorous, arboreal) but diverged from one another approximately 30 million years ago and are phylogenetically separated by a radiation of medium to massive, mainly ground-dwelling, taxa. Indeed, the species in the two living genera are among the smallest, and perhaps most unusual, of the 50+ known sloth species, and must have independently and convergently evolved small size and arboreality. In order to accurately reconstruct sloth evolution, it is critical to incorporate their extinct diversity in analyses. Here, we used a dataset of 57 species of living and fossil sloths to examine changes in body mass mean and variance through their evolution, employing a general time-variable model that allows for analysis of evolutionary trends in continuous characters within clades lacking fully-resolved phylogenies, such as sloths. Results Our analyses supported eight models, all of which partition sloths into multiple subgroups, suggesting distinct modes of body size evolution among the major sloth lineages. Model-averaged parameter values supported trended walks in most clades, with estimated rates of body mass change ranging as high as 126 kg/million years for the giant ground sloth clades Megatheriidae and Nothrotheriidae. Inclusion of living sloth species in the analyses weakened reconstructed rates for their respective groups, with estimated rates for Megalonychidae (large to giant ground sloths and the extant two-toed sloth) were four times higher when the extant genus Choloepus was excluded. Conclusions Analyses based on extant taxa alone have the potential to oversimplify or misidentify macroevolutionary patterns. This study demonstrates the impact that integration of data from the fossil record can have on reconstructions of character evolution and establishes that body size evolution in sloths was complex, but dominated by trended walks towards the enormous sizes exhibited in some recently extinct forms

State nutrition profile: Uttarakhand

This Data Note describes the trends for a set of key nutrition and health outcomes, determinants, and coverage of interventions. The findings are based on estimates using unit-level data, data from national and state reports from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3 (2005-2006) and NFHS-4 (2015-2016), and data from state factsheets and reports from NFHS-5 (2019-2021). In addition to standard prevalence-based analyses, this Data Note includes headcount-based analyses aligned to the POSHAN Abhiyaan monitoring framework to provide evidence that helps identify priority districts and number of districts in the state with public health concern as per the WHO guidelines. The Data Note includes a color-coded dashboard to compare the coverage of nutrition interventions across all the districts in the state. It concludes with key takeaways for children, women, and men, and identifies areas where the state has potential to improve.Non-PRIFPRI1; POSHAN; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; DCAPHND; SA

Adolescents’ health and wellbeing: Trends and insights from the National Family Health Surveys, 2006, 2016, and 2021

South Asia is home to more adolescents than any global region, and one in five adolescents globally live in India. Among the many issues that adolescents face, poor nutrition, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), marriage, and childbearing are of key importance as they have far-ranging and intergenerational consequences. This Data Note examines the national-level trends and spatial variability at state and district levels for a set of key nutrition outcomes, NCDs, marriage, and childbearing status among Indian adolescents (15-19 years; girls and boys). The findings are based on data from the three rounds of India’s National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) – NFHS 2006, 2016, and 2021. The Data Note concludes with key takeaways for adolescents’ wellbeing and identifies areas for improvement. This Data Note can be used for further inquiry by stakeholders including researchers, policymakers, and program staff at multiple levels.Non-PR2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; IFPRI1; POSHANNutrition, Diets, and Health (NDH); Food and Nutrition Polic

State nutrition profile: Arunachal Pradesh

This Data Note describes the trends for a set of key nutrition and health outcomes, determinants, and coverage of interventions. The findings are based on estimates using unit-level data, data from national and state reports from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3 (2005-2006) and NFHS-4 (2015-2016), and data from state factsheets and reports from NFHS-5 (2019-2021). In addition to standard prevalence-based analyses, this Data Note includes headcount-based analyses aligned to the POSHAN Abhiyaan monitoring framework to provide evidence that helps identify priority districts and number of districts in the state with public health concern as per the WHO guidelines. The Data Note includes a color-coded dashboard to compare the coverage of nutrition interventions across all the districts in the state. It concludes with key takeaways for children, women, and men, and identifies areas where the state has potential to improve.Non-PRIFPRI1; POSHAN; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; DCAPHND; SA

State nutrition profile: Tripura

This Data Note describes the trends for a set of key nutrition and health outcomes, determinants, and coverage of interventions. The findings here are based on data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 3 (2005-2006), 4 (2015-2016), and 5 (2019-2020). In addition to standard prevalence-based analyses, this Data Note includes headcount-based analyses aligned to the POSHAN Abhiyaan monitoring framework and uses data from NFHS-5 to provide evidence that helps identify priority districts and number of districts in the state with public health concern as per the WHO guidelines.1 The Data Note includes a color-coded dashboard to compare the coverage of nutrition interventions across all the districts in the state. It concludes with key takeaways for children, women, and men and identifies areas where the state has potential to improve.Non-PRIFPRI1; POSHAN; CRP4; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; DCASAR; PHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH

Teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia: Evidence from a longitudinal study of 10,000 girls in India

Objectives: Home to one in five adolescents globally and a tradition of marrying young, India faces a huge challenge of teenage births. Early birth can be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of the teenage mother and her child, but few studies have followed teenage girls over time to understand these effects. We assessed the impact of early birth on female adolescents' undernutrition status. Methods: We used longitudinal data collected under a project called UDAYA that surveyed adolescent girls in northern India (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) in 2015–16, with a follow-up round in 2018–19. Girls with no prior birth in round one were grouped as follows: still no birth in round two (reference group; n = 7,197), birth at age = 19 years by round two (later birth group; LB; n = 1,474). Using multivariate logistic and ordinary least square regression models, we examined whether EB or LB predicted height for age z-score (HAZ), stunting, BMI for age z-score (BMIZ), thinness, hemoglobin (Hb), and anemia. Models were controlled for cluster sampling design and individual and household characteristics. Results: The prevalence of undernutrition was higher in the EB group (stunting: 53%, thinness: 23%, anemia: 77%) and the LB group (stunting: 55%, thinness: 29%, anemia: 64%) compared to the reference group (stunting: 35%, thinness: 16%, anemia: 63%). The EB group was more likely to be short for their age (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.30, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.96,1.76), thin (AOR: 1.09, 95%CI: 0.68, 1.75), and anemic (AOR: 2.01, 95%CI: 1.39, 2.90) compared to the reference group. HAZ and Hb levels were on average 0.16 SD (95%CI: –0.30, –0.03) and 0.49 gm/DL (95%CI: –0.76, –0.22) lower, respectively, and BMIZ level was 0.22 SD (95%CI: 0.00, 0.43) higher for the EB group. Similar findings were observed for the LB group but were non-significant. The impact of EB on stunting and thinness was non-significant. Conclusions: In adolescent girls, early birth can contribute to stunting and anemia. Policy initiatives to increase age at marriage and at birth would likely also benefit nutritional outcomes in adolescents.Non-PRIFPRI5; CRP4PHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH

How to support students and the learning process during India’s COVID-19 school closures

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 1.6 billion learners worldwide, and school closures could lead to a loss of 0.3–0.9 years of schooling, according to World Bank estimates; a global shutdown of five months could result in lost earnings of $10 trillion over students’ lifetimes. The pandemic’s economic shocks are likely to increase school drop-out rates. Evidence suggests that the poor, girls, and other marginalized groups disproportionately suffer the consequences of school closures.Non-PRIFPRI4; CRP4PHND; DGO; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH