Monitoring and evaluation design of Malawi's Right Foods at the Right Time nutrition program

Abstract Child stunting is a public health problem in Malawi. In 2014, the Government of Malawi launched the Right Foods at the Right Time (RFRT) program in Ntchisi district delivering nutrition social and behavior change communication, a small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement to children 6–23 months, and nutrition sensitive activities. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems are key aspects of successful program implementation. We describe these and the methodology for an impact evaluation that was conducted for this program. Two monitoring systems using traditional and electronic platforms were established to register and track program delivery and processes including number of eligible beneficiaries, worker performance, program participation, and to monitor input, output, and outcome indicators. The impact evaluation used comparative cross-sectional and longitudinal designs to assess impact on anthropometric and infant and young child feeding outcomes. Three cross-sectional surveys (base-, mid-, and end-line) and two longitudinal cohorts of children followed in 6-month intervals from 6 to 24 months of age, were conducted in sampled households in the program and a neighboring comparison district. Additional M&E included qualitative studies, a process evaluation, and a cost-effectiveness study. The current paper describes lessons from this program's M&E, and demonstrates how multiple implementation research activities can inform course-correction and program scale-up

The concept of transport capacity in geomorphology

The notion of sediment-transport capacity has been engrained in geomorphological and related literature for over 50 years, although its earliest roots date back explicitly to Gilbert in fluvial geomorphology in the 1870s and implicitly to eighteenth to nineteenth century developments in engineering. Despite cross fertilization between different process domains, there seem to have been independent inventions of the idea in aeolian geomorphology by Bagnold in the 1930s and in hillslope studies by Ellison in the 1940s. Here we review the invention and development of the idea of transport capacity in the fluvial, aeolian, coastal, hillslope, débris flow, and glacial process domains. As these various developments have occurred, different definitions have been used, which makes it both a difficult concept to test, and one that may lead to poor communications between those working in different domains of geomorphology. We argue that the original relation between the power of a flow and its ability to transport sediment can be challenged for three reasons. First, as sediment becomes entrained in a flow, the nature of the flow changes and so it is unreasonable to link the capacity of the water or wind only to the ability of the fluid to move sediment. Secondly, environmental sediment transport is complicated, and the range of processes involved in most movements means that simple relationships are unlikely to hold, not least because the movement of sediment often changes the substrate, which in turn affects the flow conditions. Thirdly, the inherently stochastic nature of sediment transport means that any capacity relationships do not scale either in time or in space. Consequently, new theories of sediment transport are needed to improve understanding and prediction and to guide measurement and management of all geomorphic systems

To What Extent is Asian Economic Growth Harmful for the Environment?*

This article aims at challenging the Neo-Malthusian hypothesis of incompatibility between demographic growth and preservation of the environment in developing countries. This theoretical hypothesis has been tested here on an empirical data set referring to a specific environmental variable and to a specific developing country. The case study covers the projected increase in carbon dioxide emissions in India in the period 2003-2030. The contributions of the demographic, economic and technological variables are calculated relative to the growth in carbon dioxide emissions through the IPAT model. The results confirm the hypothesis that the Neo-Malthusian paradigm is not appropriate to explain the demographic impact on the environmental variable in Asian economies. Instead, evidence has been provided to consider that the main determinant for environmental impact is still going to be economic growth.L’objectif de cette communication est d’évaluer la validité de l’hypothèse néo-malthusienne selon laquelle il existe une incompatibilité entre la croissance démographique et la préservation de l’environnement dans les pays en voie de développement Nous testons cette hypothèse théorique en utilisant un ensemble de données empiriques relatives à une variable environnementale et à un pays en voie de développement spécifiques. L’étude de cas s’intéresse à l’augmentation prévue des émissions de gaz carbonique en Inde, entre 2003 et 2030. Les contributions des variables démographiques, économiques et technologiques à l’augmentation des émissions de dioxyde de carbone sont calculées au moyen d’un modèle IPAT. Les résultats confirment que le paradigme néo-malthusien ne convient pas pour expliquer l’impact de la population sur l’environnement dans les économies asiatiques. Au contraire, ils démontrent que le principal déterminant de l’impact environnemental reste la croissance économique.