Effects of an integrated poultry value chain, nutrition, gender and WASH intervention (SELEVER) on hygiene and child morbidity and anthropometry in Burkina Faso: A secondary outcome analysis of a cluster randomised trial.

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture programmes have the potential to improve child nutrition outcomes, but livestock intensification may pose risks related to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions. We assessed the impact of SELEVER, a nutrition- and gender-sensitive poultry intervention, with and without added WASH focus, on hygiene practices, morbidity and anthropometric indices of nutrition in children aged 2-4 years in Burkina Faso. A 3-year cluster randomised controlled trial was implemented in 120 villages in 60 communes (districts) supported by the SELEVER project. Communes were randomly assigned using restricted randomisation to one of three groups: (1) SELEVER intervention (n = 446 households); (2) SELEVER plus WASH intervention (n = 432 households); and (3) control without intervention (n = 899 households). The study population included women aged 15-49 years with an index child aged 2-4 years. We assessed the effects 1.5-years (WASH substudy) and 3-years (endline) post-intervention on child morbidity and child anthropometry secondary trial outcomes using mixed effects regression models. Participation in intervention activities was low in the SELEVER groups, ranging from 25% at 1.5 years and 10% at endline. At endline, households in the SELEVER groups had higher caregiver knowledge of WASH-livestock risks (∆ = 0.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.04-0.16]) and were more likely to keep children separated from poultry (∆ = 0.09, 95% CI [0.03-0.15]) than in the control group. No differences were found for other hygiene practices, child morbidity symptoms or anthropometry indicators. Integrating livestock WASH interventions alongside poultry and nutrition interventions can increase knowledge of livestock-related risks and improve livestock-hygiene-related practices, yet may not be sufficient to improve the morbidity and nutritional status of young children.

How light is too light touch: The effect of a short training-based intervention on household poultry production in Burkina Faso.

This paper reports on the effects of a training-based intervention seeking to increase household engagement in poultry production in Burkina Faso, analyzing data from a large-scale cluster randomized trial in which 1798 households in 60 communes were observed over a period of three years. The intervention SELEVER - entailing a short series of trainings for households as well as capacity building for local animal health and credit services - had little effect on household poultry production and no effect on profits. There is some evidence of an increase in the utilization of poultry inputs and an associated reduction in poultry mortality, primarily for larger poultry producers; however, there is no evidence of any treatment effects for the smallest producers.

A Poultry Value Chain Intervention Promoting Diversified Diets Has Limited Impact on Maternal and Child Diet Adequacy during the Lean Season in a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Soutenir l'Exploitation Familiale pour Lancer l'Élevage des Volailles et Valoriser l'Économie Rurale (SELEVER) is a nutrition- and gender-sensitive poultry value chain project designed and implemented by international nongovernmental organization Tanager, which consists of poultry market facilitation and behavior change activities aiming at increasing poultry production and improving diets without free inputs transfer. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed at assessing the impact of SELEVER on diets of women and children during the lean season. METHODS: Within a cluster randomized controlled trial, 45 communes were assigned to 1 of 3 arms, including 1) SELEVER interventions, 2) SELEVER with an intensive hygiene and sanitation component (SELEVER + WASH), and 3) a control group without intervention. Two rounds of survey were conducted 2 y apart during the lean season. Primary dietary outcomes were the probability of adequacy (PA) of iron, zinc, and vitamin A intakes; mean PA of 11 micronutrients and individual dietary diversity score collected through quantitative 24-h recall in longitudinal samples of women and index children (2-4 y old) in 1054 households; and minimum acceptable diet in the repeated cross-sectional sample of their younger sibling aged 6-23 mo. Impacts were assessed by intention-to-treat ANCOVA. RESULTS: Relative to control, SELEVER interventions (groups 1 + 2) increased the PA of iron intakes in women by 1.8 percentage points (pp) (P = 0.030). We found no further impact on primary outcomes, although egg consumption increased in index children (+0.73 pp, P = 0.010; +0.69 kcal/d, P = 0.036). Across the 3 groups, we observed negative effects of SELEVER on the PA of zinc intakes in women relative to SELEVER + WASH (-4.1 pp, P = 0.038) and on a variety of secondary dietary outcomes relative to both other groups. The study was registered on the ISCRCTN registry (ISRCTN16686478). CONCLUSIONS: Information-only-based value chain interventions may not have meaningful positive effects on diets of women and children in the lean season in settings with largely inadequate diets. We found suggestive evidence that synergies between intervention components may have introduced heterogeneity in effects on diet.