Good nutrition depends on optimal dietary, caregiving and health-seeking behaviors. The adoption of these behaviors is influenced by an intricate interplay of individual, social and structural determinants.
FHI 360 acknowledges the complexity of behaviors and household-level decision-making and applies a behavior-centered lens to all our programs. We ground our work in formative research to understand the unique factors affecting the uptake of healthy nutrition practices and health-seeking behaviors in different contexts and apply a socioecological model to design programming that addresses these factors. Our approaches apply the latest science in behavior change, use costing exercises to guide policy, and strengthen capacity to enhance the quality of counseling and service provision.
FHI 360 has been a leader in applying behavior change principles to nutrition work for nearly three decades. As a lead on the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) LINKAGES nutrition project, FHI 360 developed widely utilized infant and young child feeding guidelines and tools and strengthened the capacity of governments and implementers to apply social and behavior change in nutrition. Through the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) III project, FHI 360 developed job aids and counseling materials for service providers and community workers to strengthen behavior change negotiation, many of which are still in use.
Through our Alive & Thrive initiative, we have played a central role in establishing the global evidence base around the impact and scalability of multifaceted behavior change and the application of research to enhance policies and improve nutrition.
Finally, FHI 360 has developed unique capabilities in the application of behavioral principles to multisector nutrition programming, and we currently lead social and behavior change interventions within two USAID Resilience and Food Security activities: the Takunda project in Zimbabwe and the Fiovana project in Madagascar.
You can find more information on FHI 360’s organizational SBC capabilities here.