Oot Consulting
Resources and Publications
Resource Spotlight:
Responsive Care and Early Learning Addendum
To address gaps in existing nutrition counseling packages, USAID Advancing Nutrition worked with an external technical advisory group of experts in ECD, nutrition, and social and behavior change to develop counseling and training materials, known as the Responsive Care and Early Learning (RCEL) Addendum package. The content of the RCEL Addendum package focuses on promoting responsive care, responsive feeding, and early learning; monitoring children’s development; promoting and supporting caregiver well-being; and supporting children with feeding difficulties. The package is designed to support community-level counselors and health providers as they provide individual counseling and/or group sessions that encourage these high-priority caregiving behaviors for improved ECD outcomes.
The RCEL Addendum is a global package that gives programs the flexibility to adapt the materials to different country contexts and audiences by adjusting the content and delivery modalities. It can be added or integrated into existing child health, nutrition, or infant and young child feeding (IYCF) counseling packages, including UNICEF’s Community Infant and Young Child Feeding (C-IYCF) Counselling Package, which is the model for the RCEL Addendum.
What Is Included in the RCEL Addendum?
The foundation of the RCEL Addendum is a set of seven illustrated counseling cards that include key messages and practical tips for counselors to share with caregivers. The counseling cards are complemented by job aids for counselors on topics such as steps for structuring counseling visits and tips to support children with disabilities during counseling sessions. The package also includes training materials—a facilitator’s guide, training aid, and participant handouts—and a guide for planning, adaptation, and implementation. All images used in the RCEL Addendum package are also available through the IYCF Image Bank.
Responsive Care and Early Learning Video Series
USAID Advancing Nutrition, in collaboration with Global Health Media, created 10 videos showcasing real-life responsive caregiving moments between caregivers and their children. The Responsive Care and Early Learning (RCEL) Video Series demonstrates, explains, and promotes positive responsive caregiving practices and counseling skills for health workers and complements the RCEL Addendum package. The videos are designed to be used both as part of the RCEL Addendum training curriculum and as a stand-alone training/learning aid for health workers. The videos are available in English, Arabic, French, Kyrgyz, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. View the videos here: https://lnkd.in/e3m4MM7X
Resource Spotlight:
Supporting Integrated Infant and Young Child Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Programming: Ages and Stages Reference Package
The Ages and Stages package was created to help program managers design and implement more holistic and integrated programming that will support the health and development of children zero up to two years of age. More specifically, this reference helps implementers provide more targeted nutrition, responsive care and early learning programming to support caregivers based on the age and developmental stage of the child.
The Ages and Stages Reference Package contains four age-specific modules (birth up to 6 months, 6 up to 9 months, 9 up to 12 months, 12 up to 24 months) which provide information on how children grow and develop and what their feeding and care needs are at each age/stage. Each module also identifies potential caregiver challenges and provides example activities that programs can do to support targeted IYCF/RCEL activities at each age/stage. To support the use of these modules, we also developed a Program Design and Implementation Guide—which provides information on how to use the age-specific modules and key design principles to support the package’s effective use.
Additional Resources:
Integrated Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Programming
Oot L, Varela V, Abdimitalipova C., et al. 2024. Promoting Responsive Care and Early Learning Practices Among Caregivers in the Kyrgyz Republic: Findings from Integrating a Counseling Intervention with Nutrition Services. Journal of Public Health Nutrition.
Aidam E, Varela V, Abukari F, Torres KA., et al. 2024. Promoting responsive care and early learning practices in Northern Ghana: results from a counselling intervention within nutrition and health services. Journal of Public Health Nutrition.
USAID Advancing Nutrition. 2023. Supporting Integrated Infant and Young Child Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Programming: Ages and Stages Reference Package. Arlington, VA.
Maalouf-Manasseh, Z; Oot, L; Sethuraman, K. 2015. Giving Children the Best Start in Life: Integrating Nutrition and Early Childhood Development within the First 1,000 Days. Washington, DC: FHI 360/FANTA.
Nutrition Advocacy
PROFILES Manual - This resource provides comprehensive, step-by-step instructions for facilitating a national country-level nutrition advocacy planning process using the PROFILES nutrition advocacy tool and nutrition costing. Designed for practitioners working in and with government and their stakeholders to conduct nutrition advocacy planning in a given country, the manual is based on a process that FANTA developed, field-tested, and refined over several years of facilitating nutrition advocacy in developing countries using a collaborative approach. The manual includes planning guidance; session plans for workshop and meeting facilitators; presentations with scripted notes; handouts for workshop and meeting participants; and templates (including the PROFILES spreadsheet workbook) for use in each step of the process.
Oot, L.; Sethuraman, K.; Ross, J.; Sommerfelt, A.E. 2018. Estimating the Impact of Two Common Risk Factors for Stunting – Inadequate Dietary Diversity and Teenage Pregnancy: Models in PROFILES for Country-Level Advocacy. Washington, DC: FANTA/FHI 360.
Oot, L.; Sethuraman, K.; Ross, J.; Sommerfelt, A.E. 2018. The Effect of the Late Initiation of Breastfeeding on Neonatal Mortality: A Model in PROFILES for Country-Level Advocacy. Washington, DC FANTA/FHI 360.
Sethuraman, Kavita; Kovach, Tara; Oot, Lesley; Sommerfelt, A. Elisabeth; and Ross, Jay. 2018. Manual for Country Level Nutrition Advocacy Using PROFILES and Nutrition Costing. Washington, DC: FHI 360/Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance III Project (FANTA).
Oot, L.; Sethuraman, K.; Ross, J.; and Sommerfelt, A.E. 2016. The Effect of Suboptimal Breastfeeding on Preschool Overweight/Obesity: A Model in PROFILES for Country-level Advocacy. Washington, DC: FHI 360/FANTA.
Oot, L.; Sethuraman, K.; Ross, J.; and Sommerfelt, A.E. 2016. The Effect of Chronic Malnutrition (Stunting) on Learning Ability, a Measure of Human Capital: A Model in PROFILES for Country-Level Advocacy. Washington, DC: FHI 360/FANTA.
Oot, L.; Sommerfelt, A.E.; Sethuraman, K.; and Ross, J. 2015. Estimating the Effect of Suboptimal Breastfeeding Practices on Child Mortality: A Model in PROFILES for Country-Level Advocacy. Washington, DC: FHI 360/FANTA.
Ash, Deborah; Sethuraman, Kavita; Sommerfelt, A. Elisabeth; Oot, Lesley; Kovach, Tara; Kaganda, Joyceline; Chiduo, Geoffrey; and Yokobety, Malisa. 2014. Reducing Malnutrition in Tanzania: Estimates to Support Nutrition Advocacy: Tanzania PROFILES 2014. Washington, DC and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: FHI 360/FANTA, Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre and Prime Minister’s Office, Tanzania.
Climate Change and Nutrition
Oot, Lesley; Mason, Frances; Lapping, Karin. 2021. The First-Food System: The Importance of Breastfeeding in Global Food Systems Discussions. Washington, DC: FHI Solutions, Alive & Thrive, and Save the Children.
Blog: As global climate summit gets underway, the nutrition-climate nexus must remain front and center.
Webinar. Strategies for Infant and Young Child Feeding in Climate-Related Emergencies.
Food Security
Murphy, Emmet; Oot, Lesley; Sethuraman, Kavita. 2017. USAID Office of Food for Peace Food Security Desk Review for Burkina Faso. Washington, DC: FHI 360/FANTA
Mathys, Ellen; Oot, Lesley; and Sethuraman, Kavita 2017. USAID Office of Food for Peace Food Security Desk Review for Niger. Washington, DC: FHI 360/FANTA.
Magnani, R; Oot, L; Sethuraman, K; Kabir, G; Rahman, S. 2015. USAID Office of Food For Peace Food Security Country Framework for Bangladesh (FY 2015–2019). Washington, DC: FHI 360/FANTA.
Nutrition Programming
GUIDE TO ANTHROPOMETRY: A Practical Tool for Program Planners, Managers, and Implementers.
This user-friendly resource offers up-to-date information and step-by-step instructions on using anthropometry to assess the nutritional status of individuals and communities. The guide, which replaces the 2003 Anthropometric indicators measurement guide, explains anthropometric measurements and indices and the nutrition conditions that they assess in different demographic groups. It also discusses how to interpret anthropometric data and offers guidance on selecting equipment for taking measurements in low-resource settings.
This resource can be used to better collect, understand and use anthropometric data as part of service provision, surveillance, surveys, monitoring and evaluation, and program design. Its guidance is based on important developments in assessing nutritional status, including the 2006 World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards for children from birth to five years, the 2007 WHO Growth Reference for children aged 5 to 19 years, and the use of mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) as a key indicator for acute malnutrition. The guide also covers adolescents and adults, reflecting growing attention on the health and nutrition of these groups in developing countries.
USAID Advancing Nutrition. 2023. Strengthening Counseling Capacity through Supportive Supervision and Mentorship. Arlington, VA.
USAID Advancing Nutrition. 2023. How to Better Measure Nutrition Training Programs. Arlington, VA: USAID Advancing Nutrition.
USAID Advancing Nutrition. 2023. What’s New? Innovative Nutrition Social and Behavior Change Design Approaches. Arlington, VA: USAID Advancing Nutrition
Alive & Thrive and UNICEF. 2022. Factors Influencing the Practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding and Other Infant Feeding Practices in the First Six Months of Life in West and Central Africa. Alive & Thrive and UNICEF.
Cashin, Kristen and Oot, Lesley. 2018. Guide to Anthropometry: A Practical Tool for Program Managers, Planners, and Implementers. Washington, DC: FHI360/FANTA
CORE Group Nutrition Working Group, Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance III Project (FANTA), and Save the Children. 2015. “Nutrition Program Design Assistant: A Tool for Program Planners.” Version 2. Washington, DC: FANTA/FHI 360.
Chaparro, C.; Oot, L.; and Sethuraman, K. 2014. Overview of the Nutrition Situation in Four Countries in South and Central Asia. Washington, DC: FHI 360/FANTA.
Kaushik, S., Rolf Klemm, Lesley Oot, Zeba Mahmud. 2015. Testing the Feasibility of Delivering Vitamin A to Newborns in Bangladesh’s Health Care System. European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety.