Short-term nutrition and growth indicators in 6-month- to 6-year-old children are improved following implementation of a multidisciplinary community-based programme in a chronic conflict setting

OBJECTIVE: We investigated short- and long-term indicators of malnutrition and diet before and after the community-based ‘Breaking the Cycle of Poverty’ multidisciplinary intervention. DESIGN: A historically and geographically controlled study using data collected in 2013 and 2016. We compared the prevalence of short-term indicators (anaemia, breast-feeding duration and minimum dietary diversity) and long-term indicators (stunting and wasting) in exposed communities at two time points. We then compared these factors in geographic areas exposed or not exposed to intervention. We conducted logistic regression analyses on the 2016 sample to measure associations between living in intervention communities and child growth indicators. SETTING: Berd region, a chronic conflict zone near the north-eastern border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. PARTICIPANTS: Children aged 6 months to 6 years. RESULTS: Analyses included data from 2013 comprising 382 children, and data from 2016 comprising 348 children living in communities where the programme was implemented, and 635 children from unexposed communities. Anaemia prevalence in exposed communities was significantly lower in 2016 v. 2013 (10·9 v. 19·1 %, P < 0·01). Minimum dietary diversity (79·0 v. 68·1 %, P < 0·001) and breast-feeding duration (13·0 v. 11·5 months, P < 0·002) were significantly improved in exposed communities. Prevalences of stunting (11·5 v. 10·2 %, P = 0·57) and wasting (4·8 v. 2·0 %, P = 0·07) were not significantly different. Odds of anaemia were significantly lower (OR = 0·24, 95 % CI 0·16, 0·36) in intervention communities. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to a community-based multidisciplinary intervention reduced the rate of anaemia and improved dietary indicators.