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Community-based interventions addressing multiple forms of malnutrition among adolescents in low-and middle-income countries: a scoping review
Get PDFCommunity-based interventions hold promise for addressing adolescent malnutrition, but there is limited
knowledge of their nature and impact on adolescent nutrition outcomes in low- and middle-income countries
(LMICs). This scoping review aimed to characterize community-based adolescent nutrition interventions in LMICs and summarize their effects on adolescent nutrition outcomes. We systematically searched MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL through the Cochrane Library for studies published between 2000 and 2023. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies addressing adolescent malnutrition in LMIC community settings, involving adolescents aged 10–19 years. A narrative synthesis was employed to analyze and describe the evidence. Our review included 37 records from 36 studies conducted in 27 countries. Interventions included micronutrient supplementation, nutrition education, food supplementation and fortification, physical activity education,
and multicomponent approaches. The intervention duration ranged from 3 weeks to 2 years, with limited studies grounded in theoretical frameworks. Fifty-seven percent of interventions (n = 21) targeted adolescent girls, indicating a gap in programs for boys and other vulnerable groups, such as out-of-school adolescents and migrants. The intervention delivery agents included research staff and healthcare professionals. The majority of interventions were delivered in person; few utilized social media strategies. Among the studies reviewed, nine out of ten evaluating micronutrient supplementation, six out of seven assessing nutrition education, and seven out of eight examining multicomponent interventions reported improvement in at least one nutrition or diet-related outcome. Community-based interventions hold promise for improving adolescent nutritional status in LMICs. However, our review highlights gaps in the evidence base, marked by significant variability in intervention design, delivery, and implementation platforms. This underscores the need for integrated approaches and rigorous evaluations of their implementation outcomes, including acceptability, relevance, feasibility, effectiveness, and sustainability, in addressing adolescent nutrition challenges.
Towards strengthening collaborations between government and civil society for effective gender mainstreaming implementation
No full textHSRC Policy Brief, JuneCivil society serves as a key partner to the government in implementing gender mainstreaming policies that aim to promote gender equality. South Africa's 2000 National Gender Policy Framework (NGPF), currently under review, recommends stronger institutional capacity, inclusive of civil society participation, improved funding for marginalised groups, and robust accountability mechanisms to advance gender equality. However, poor implementation and structural gaps hinder effective collaboration and progress toward these goals.N/
Regional integration and industrial development: strange bedfellows for the African continental free trade area programme in Southern Africa
No full textPaper presented at the TIPS Annual Forum 2025, Sandton, South Africa, 30-31 JulyThe African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to reshape Africa’s economic landscape by strengthening regional integration and boosting industrialization through lowered trade barriers, harmonized standards, and increased intra-continental trade in goods and services. However, this initiative faces a major obstacle in the form of national sovereignty. In Southern Africa, despite vocal commitments to integration, industrial policies remain disjointed, nationalist, and protectionist, weakening regional coordination and industrial growth. This paper interrogates the sovereignty-integration tension at the heart of AfCFTA’s implementation in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It posits that national reluctance to cede policy space, particularly in trade and industrial governance, stymies efforts to build the cross-border
value chains necessary for inclusive growth. The political economy of domestic constituencies, uneven industrial capacities, and mistrust among member states exacerbate these dynamics, leading to policy incoherence and integration fatigue. Drawing on theories of sovereignty, regional integration, and political settlements, the paper adopts the critical reflection methodology, supported by comparative insights from the European Union, using the Airbus consortium case. The Airbus story illustrates how sovereignty can be strategically pooled to enable sectoral integration, shared industrial governance, and global competitiveness,
without requiring full political union. The paper suggests a pragmatic path forward for SADC, recommending functional integration in specific sectors, supported by supranational coordination mechanisms, industrial development funds, and differentiated integration frameworks. It argues that sovereignty, redefined as ‘strategic sovereignty,’ can become an asset rather than an obstacle to regional integration if based on trust,
institutional innovation, and mutual benefit. Therefore, the success of AfCFTA in Southern Africa depends not on eliminating sovereignty but on reconciling it with regional priorities. The real choice is not between sovereignty and integration but between fragmented stagnation and collaborative development.N/
The health sector response to gender-based violence and sexual reproductive health programs in the Commonwealth and selected African countries: protocol for a mixed methods systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textThe intertwining nature of gender-based violence (GBV) and violence perpetrated against women and girls (VAWG), as well as sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), underlines the urgent need for the health sector to enhance the coordination of services to improve health outcomes. Importantly, GBV and VAWG are intricately linked to a spectrum of SRHR challenges, ranging from unintended pregnancies to severe maternal, gynecological, and mental health outcomes. Cumulative GBV had a more significant effect on abortion risk than associated variables. Recognizing the interplay between GBV, VAWG, and SRHR highlights the necessity for a comprehensive health sector response. A systematic review of the health sector response to GBV, VAWG, and SRHR will be conducted to understand the extent and array of health facility–based coordinated responses to GBV, VAWG, and SRHR; lessons learned; and successes and challenges in the Commonwealth and selected African countries. We aim to understand the context of GBV, VAWG, and SRHR by conducting a comprehensive review of health sector responses in different national, cultural, and socioeconomic contexts, and we aim to share best practices, experiences, and lessons learned.
Emancipatory research: the ultimate aim to centre young people and justice in research
No full textPaper presented at the UGood Research Programme Webinar, 17 SeptemberN/
Aftermath exhibition
No full textA video and an interview of Prof. Luescher T. on the #Feesmustfall aftermath, eNews Channel Africa (eNCA
Employee diversity and innovation performance among agricultural businesses: evidence from South Africa
No full textThis study investigates the relationship between employee diversity and innovation performance within agricultural businesses. Using data from the South African Agricultural Business Innovation Survey (AgriBIS) 2019-2021, this study applies the Blau index to measure diversity and uses binary logit models to assess how these diversity dimensions influence product and process innovation, as well as intellectual property (IP) outcomes. The study found that gender diversity was significantly and positively associated with all three dimensions of innovation as measured by the dependent variables (product innovation, process innovation, and IP). Racial diversity was weakly but positively associated with product innovation but showed no significant effects on process innovations or intellectual property, while age diversity was found to be insignificant across all innovation outcomes. The findings suggest policymakers should develop instruments that promote gender diversity, while business leaders are encouraged to incorporate gender diversity into their innovation strategies to enhance agricultural innovation.
Anatomy of an alliance for affordable urban housing
No full textThis paper explains how an informal partnership is changing the way affordable housing is produced in Cape Town. It explores the alliance’s composition, the roles of different actors and the shifts in City Council policies and practices. The shared objective is to supplement or replace state-led housing delivery systems with a more developmental approach driven by many grassroots property enterprises. With the glue of goodwill, the alliance draws together diverse partners with different expertise, resources and legitimacy. Through collective action they have amplified the voice and capabilities of emerging micro-developers and opened the bureaucracy to outside interests. This has altered the perspectives of senior politicians and officials towards informality, and prompted the City Council to instigate wide-ranging reforms, galvanizing a momentum for change that may be difficult to arrest. The paper illustrates the power of a compelling vision supported by sound technical arguments and articulated by credible actors and organizations.
Building fairer, safer cities in Southern Africa with equity and resilience
No full textRapid, unplanned urban growth across Southern Africa has left vulnerable communities most at risk from extreme weather. A new HSRC paper argues that integrating social equity with disaster risk reduction is key to
building fairer, more resilient cities in the SADC region.