Summits - SBCC and C4D
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Summits - SBCC and C4D
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Nutritional supplementation, maternal education, and cognitive development of infants at risk of malnutrition

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Waber DP, Vuori-Christiansen L, Ortiz N, Clement JR, Christiansen NE, Mora JO, Reed RB, Herrera MG. (1981). Nutritional supplementation, maternal education, and cognitive development of infants at risk of malnutrition. .American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Apr;34(Suppl 4):807-13.

Abstract

Infants born to families at risk of malnutrition were studied prospectively from the beginning of the 3rd trimester of the mother's pregnancy until the child reached 3 yr of age to ascertain the effects of nutritional supplementation and/or a maternal education program on their cognitive development. Four hundred thirty-three families were assigned randomly to six groups: group A served as a control; group B received the supplement from the age of 6 months to 3 yr; group C received the supplement during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and the first 6 months of the child's life; and group D received the supplement throughout the entire study period. In addition, group A1 was enrolled in a maternal education program but received no nutritional supplement and group B1 received both treatments. The Griffiths test of infant development was administered at 4, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months of age, and the Corman-Escalona Einstein scale was administered at each age up to 18 months. Children who received food supplementation performed better than those who did not, especially on subtests that were primarily motoric. The effect of food supplementation on behavior appeared to be contemporaneous. In addition, the treatment effects were more pronounced for girls than for boys in this sample. Although these interventions reduced the gap in cognitive performance between lower and upper socioeconomic classes, a disparity nevertheless remained by the end of the study.