The Power of Nutrition

This global advocacy toolkit from the Alive & Thrive (A&T) initiative includes an animated video, infographic, and resource guide that are designed to help illustrate the importance of early childhood nutrition in strengthening the future for children, communities, and nations. These advocacy tools are designed to encourage policymakers to:

• Foster greater understanding among officials, health providers, development organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the general public of the importance of good nutrition in early childhood;
• Improve programmes and policies at the national and regional levels to support early childhood nutrition;
• Increase budget allocations for maternal and child health, with a particular focus on nutrition; and
• Prioritise early childhood nutrition as a development and economic issue across all sectors of government.

The tools include:

• An animated video (see below), which is designed to help illustrate the importance of infant and young child feeding at meetings or presentations.
• An infographic [PDF], which can serve as a leave-behind material at meetings or conferences, a poster for office or clinic walls, and an informational piece for press kits, mailings, and more.
• A 5-page resource guide [PDF], which provides additional key messaging around the global movement to scale up nutrition, the action steps for policymakers, and information about the power of nutrition and best feeding practices. The guide can be used as a resource for background information and can also serve as a leave-behind material at meetings.

A&T is an initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve infant and young child feeding in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Viet Nam and to inform policies and programmes around the world. A&T is a consortium of organisations, comprising FHI 360, BRAC, GMMB, IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute), Save the Children, University of California-Davis, and World Vision.