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The American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), in collaboration with 1,000 Days, intends to publish a special issue exploring the importance of the 1,000-day window from pregnancy to age 2 for maternal and child nutrition and health in the United States. 

Scheduled for publication in early November 2022, the supplement will highlight how policies, systems, and environments affect the nutrition of mothers and children during the first 1,000 days. It will also summarize the state of the science and research needs related to maternal and child nutrition in the United States. 

Here are 5 things to know about the call for papers:

1. 1. Papers of interest will focus on nutrition surveillance, interventions, and policy. Topics of interest include maternal diet and nutrition during pregnancy and lactation; infant and young child feeding; community and workplace nutrition supports; and federal, state, local, and organizational policies and programs that support mothers and young children in the 1,000-day window. 
   2. Some papers may not be relevant. Papers of interest will approach the topics above through a public health lens; clinical or treatment studies are not relevant for this series. Papers may (but are not required to) explore lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic response, but results should be relevant beyond the current pandemic.
   3. CDC Director Dr. Ruth Petersen is the guest editor. Dr. Petersen, MD, MPH, is the Director of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) and brings a breadth of experience and leadership from multiple settings including health care, local and state health departments, national advisory groups, academic settings, the private sector, and global health platforms.  
   4. Detailed instructions on manuscript preparation and formatting can be found on the AJPH website. We recommend you review the instructions for authors, including specific guidelines for each type of manuscript (systematic reviews, research articles, opinion editorials, etc.). Manuscripts must be submitted to AJPH by March 1, 2022 via the online submission system. 
   5. All articles in this special issue will be open access, thanks to the generous support of the Pritzker Children’s Initiative. (1,000 Days and PCI are actively seeking additional funders for this opportunity. Contact Blythe Thomas, bthomas@fhisolutions.org, for more information about supporting this important effort.)

View the full call for papers for complete instructions for submission. For additional information, please contact guest editor Dr. Ruth Petersen (rpetersen@cdc.gov). 

Please consider submitting your work and sharing this opportunity with your network!

On behalf of 1,000 Days, I would like to applaud today’s House passage of the Build Back Better Act, which brings us one step closer to a healthier future for families in the 1,000-day window everywhere. This historic bill is a once in a generation investment in children and families, including transformational initiatives to advance health equity, climate justice, food security, and economic prosperity for working families.

From permanent CHIP authorization to closing the Medicaid coverage gap, the Build Back Better Act will dramatically expand access to affordable health care for American families. The bill also makes significant investments in programs to address the vast racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes in the United States, including several provisions of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus and an extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage. Investments in doulas, initiatives to expand the diversity of the perinatal workforce, and programs to address social determinants of health are critically important steps in improving health outcomes for birthing people of color and their families.

The Build Back Better Act also establishes a long-overdue national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program to support workers and their families. Whether for a personal health emergency, a public health emergency, to care for an ailing loved one, or to welcome a new child– when families need paid leave, they need paid leave. No one should have to choose between their well-being and their paycheck. At 1,000 Days, we know that paid leave is a public health imperative and a critical tool to support the well-being of moms and babies, address racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health, encourage equitable caregiving practices, and build a healthier future for us all. We strongly urge the Senate to take up and pass the Build Back Better Act as written, as soon as possible. Moms, babies, and their families can’t wait.

Blythe Thomas
Initiative Director
1,000 Days, an initiative of FHI Solutions

By: Lesley Oot, Hwida Sevigny and Karin Lapping

As leaders of more than 120 countries gather in Glasgow today to open the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), all eyes turn to the global climate crisis and the urgency of this moment for the future of our world. However, COP26 will likely attract less attention from the nutrition community.

2021 is the Nutrition Year of Action. With global events like the Nutrition for Growth (December 2021) and the UN Food System Summit (September 2021), there has been increased focus on the need to address malnutrition in all its forms and create a global food system that is resilient, sustainable, and nutritious for all.

Despite some efforts to unite the nutrition and climate agendas, there has been limited traction in bringing the two communities together to understand each other’s perspectives and develop practical solutions that address both agendas.

Nutrition, climate change, and the food system are highly interconnected, and climate change and global malnutrition cannot be tackled through siloed interventions and policies. Joint action from stakeholders across both communities is required for significant and lasting change.

How does climate change affect nutrition?

Climate change is threatening the world’s ability to achieve food and nutrition security. It negatively affects household food access, maternal and child health, and access to clean water and proper sanitation –– triggered by rising temperatures, changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events (e.g., droughts, flood, cyclones, fires, etc). The most vulnerable communities- the poor, women, children, and indigenous communities- suffer the most. These groups experience high exposure to natural hazards, yet have the least capacity to adapt to climate impacts. This will likely exacerbate the burden women already face in providing proper care of infants and young children, who are at the greatest risk of malnutrition. Recent estimates suggest an additional 500,000 deaths per year due to the climates’ impact on human diets by the year 2050 (Springermann et al. 2016).

Climate change is negatively impacting global diets and nutrition around the world by limiting food access, reducing food quality, and increasing the likelihood of unsafe food consumption.

• Drought, floods, and other impacts of climate change are limiting food production in many parts of world by reducing available arable land and crop yields, limiting crop diversity, killing livestock, and destroying crops. A report from UNICEF estimates that many countries may see a reduction in agricultural productivity between 9 and 21 percent by 2080, impacting not only the quantity of food available but the diversity and quality of that food.
• Climate change is affecting the quality of food produced as rising soil temperatures and higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO²) in the Earth’s atmosphere are reducing the nutrient content of foods. For example, the zinc, protein, and iron content of staple crops (e.g., wheat, rice, and corn) could be reduced by 5-10% by 2050. Rising levels of CO² could result in 175 million people becoming zinc deficient, 122 people becoming protein deficient, and 1 billion women and children at increased risk of anemia and other illness due to reduced iron intake by 2050 (Harvard 2021).
• Climate change is also affecting global food safety, with rising water temperatures increasing the risk of human exposure to harmful algae and bacteria while rising temperatures and increased humidity are exposing new regions to the world (and exacerbating existing) to mold growth (e.g., mycotoxins and aflatoxins) that can contaminate crops and pose a serious health threat to humans and livestock if consumed (FAO, 2020; WHO, 2018). Climate change also hinders the infrastructure to deliver foods (e.g., requiring additional cold storage to keep foods safe) (Fanzo, 2018).

How do global diets and nutrition interventions impact the environment? 

Nutrition simultaneously affects our climate through the way we interact with the environment and the foods we produce and consume.

• The current food system and dietary habits are a major contributor to GHG emissions, biodiversity loss, and pollution, as food production is estimated to account for 30 percent of global GHG emissions and 70 percent of freshwater use (EAT-Lancet Commission, 2021).
• Widespread pesticide and fertilizer use contaminate water systems, and fishing and livestock rearing practices further harm the environment – negatively impacting biodiversity by damaging natural habitats, changing ecosystems, degrading the soil, and contributing to massive deforestation (Fanzo 2018).
• Finally, the current food system wastes close to a third of all food produced, squandering not only the food itself but all the resources used to produce that food (e.g., water, land, energy, and labor) (United Nations Environment Programme, 2021).

Win/win actions that benefit nutrition and the environment

There are a range of actions that stakeholders in both the nutrition and climate communities can take to help reduce global malnutrition and benefit the environment.

1. Encourage shifts to diets that are pro-planet: Work with your communities to promote a planetary health diet, which is based on healthy and sustainable ingredients and focused on the availability of indigenous (where possible) fruits, nuts, legumes, and vegetables alongside small portions of meat and dairy (EAT-Lancet 2019). This dietary shift helps to reduce the negative impacts of food production on land use, GHG emissions, and water consumption/pollution. The diet also stresses reducing the over consumption of foods and subsequent food waste produced, helping to mitigate the negative nutritional and environmental impacts associated with overconsumption of unhealthy foods. The EAT-Lancet provides guidance on what a planetary health diet could entail and how to support that transition through education, social and behavior change interventions, and policy change (Vermeulen et al. 2019).
2. Conduct interventions with an awareness of climate impacts – including food safety, biodiversity, and emissions: Actors working within both the nutrition and climate spheres need to keep each other in mind when designing and implementing programs. For example, promoting climate smart agriculture interventions such as using improved seed varieties that are more nutritious but also more resilient to changing weather conditions, pests, and diseases. Another example is promoting improved post-harvest food storage and processing strategies can help to reduce waste, protect the nutrient density of foods, and improve food safety.
3. Accelerate research on innovations, technologies, and interventions to promote sustainable healthy diets: We should continue to conduct research on climate-friendly solutions to help make foods more nutritious, yet resistant to the effects of climate change. One such example is the creation of biofortified foods (e.g., iron beans) that are not only more nutrient rich (higher iron content), but more resistant to the negative impacts of climate change – high yielding, virus resistant, and drought/heat tolerant (Bakker et al. 2021).
4. Deploy evidence-based nutrition and climate friendly advocacy: Encourage governments and actors across sectors to come together to address common and systematic drivers to both climate change and global malnutrition, utilizing comprehensive policies and strategies to address current failures. Nutrition and food security should be integrated into both national climate change plans and sustainable development plans to create stronger policy convergence. Globally, nutrition and food systems should be a key pillar of nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which signatories to the Paris Agreement are required to submit every five years to the UNFCCC. This could help to ratchet up the ambitions of country NDCs and demonstrate good practices that can be shared amongst countries at key multilateral fora such as COPs and the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development. Equity, gender, and youth inclusion should be key components to any successful policy efforts (Bakker et al. 2021). Stakeholders should also encourage countries to invest in data systems to monitor and track key climate and nutrition indicators to assess progress and inform future policy actions

Next Steps

Given the negative impact of climate change on global malnutrition and in turn the significant contributions of the current food system to climate change, it is vital that stakeholders from both sectors come together to discuss their needs and implement mutually beneficial solutions.

With COP 26 now underway, the time to act and come together is now. To learn more about the work of FHI 360 and its family of organizations, including FHI Solutions at COP26 please visit FHI 360 at the COP26 Global Climate Conference | FHI 360. Details are included on the FHI350 side event on climate finance.

References

Bakker, L. Macheka, L. Eunice, D. Koopmanschap, D. Bosch, I. Hennemann, L. Roosendaal, 2021. Food-system interventions with climate change and nutrition co-benefits; A literature review. Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation, Wageningen University & Research. Report WCDI21-153. Wageningen.

EAT-Lancet Commission. 2019. Summary Report of the EAT-Lancet Commission. Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems. Available at: EAT-Lancet_Commission_Summary_Report.pdf (eatforum.org)

EAT-Lancet Commission. 2019. EAT-Lancet Commission Brief for Policymakers. Available at: https://eatforum.org/lancet-commission/policymakers/

Fanzo J, Davis C, McLaren R, & Choufani J. 2018. The effect of climate change across food systems: Implications for nutrition outcomes. Global Food Security, 18, 12-19.

FAO. 2020. Climate change: Unpacking the burden on food safety. Food safety and quality series No. 8. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8185en.

Harvard. “As carbon dioxide levels climb, millions at risk of nutritional deficiencies”. Retrieved on October 3, 2021. Available at: As carbon dioxide levels climb, millions at risk of nutritional deficiencies | News | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Oot, L., Mason, F., Lapping, K. 2021. The First-Food System: The Importance of Breastfeeding in Global Food

Systems Discussions. Available at: https://www.aliveandthrive.org/en/resources/the-first-food-system-the-importance-of-breastfeeding-in-global-food-systems-discussions.

Smith, J.P. 2019. “A commentary on the carbon footprint of milk formula: harms to planetary health and policy implications.” Intl Breastfeed J. Vol 14, no. 49. Vermeulen S, Park T, Khoury CK, Mockshell J, Béné C, Thi HT, Heard B, Wilson B. 2019.

Springermann et al., 2016. Global and regional health effects of future food production under climate change: A modelling study. http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140- 6736(15)01156-3.pdf

UNICEF UK. Climate change, food systems and children: a case for greater action. Available at: unicef203.pdf (uncclearn.org)

United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Food Waste Index Report 2021. Nairobi. Available at: UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021 | UNEP – UN Environment Programme  Vermeulen S, Park T, Khoury CK, Mockshell J, Béné C, Thi HT, Heard B, Wilson B. 2019. Changing diets and transforming food systems. CCAFS Working Paper No. 282. Wageningen, the Netherlands: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). Available at: https://ccafs.cgiar.org/resources/publications/changing-diets-and-transforming-food-systems

World Health Organization. 2018. Food Safety Climate Change and the Role of the WHO. Available at: https://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/all/Climate_Change_Document.pdf

World Health Organization. 2020. Guidance on mainstreaming biodiversity for nutrition and health. Geneva: WHO. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. Available at: mainstreaming-biodiversity-for-nutrition-and-health12d76606-f87e-4857-9264-dd2b2924186a.pdf (who.int)

On behalf of 1,000 Days, I would like to express my deep disappointment at the news that paid family and medical leave has been left out of the Build Back Better package. President Biden called for a “once-in-a-generation investment in our families and our children,” and in many ways the package delivers on that promise. Historic investments in child care and the care infrastructure, children’s access to nutritious foods, health coverage, and the Child Tax Credit will be transformative for our nation’s families. 

However, as it currently stands, millions of families will not have the opportunity to benefit from the promise of paid leave: the opportunity to care for themselves and their loved ones, to bond with a new child, to spend precious moments with a gravely ill family member, or to recover from their own serious illness. As the past 18 months have made all too clear, paid leave is a public health imperative. At 1,000 Days, we know that access to paid leave is crucial to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthening our economy, supporting workers, improving maternal and child health outcomes and reducing disparities, and building a better future for American families. 

This must be the year we pass paid leave. We will continue to fight alongside our partners to ensure that all workers and all families in the United States have access to comprehensive, equitable paid family and medical leave.

Blythe Thomas
Initiative Director
1,000 Days, an initiative of FHI Solutions

Dear President Biden,

We, the undersigned organizations, write to thank you for continuing your Administration’s support for global food security and nutrition at the recent UN Food Systems Summit. We appreciate that your Administration has acknowledged the skyrocketing rates of global hunger and malnutrition and hope that you will prioritize progress and focus on impact in this year of action on nutrition, culminating in a bold pledge of increasing resources to $1 billion at the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit in December.

As a nutrition community, we ask that you demonstrate your commitment to helping all children have a better future by attending the N4G Summit in Tokyo. At the Summit, we urge you to pledge $1 billion for nutrition investments for FY23-25 across accounts that contribute to achieving the 2025 World Health Assembly (WHA) Nutrition Targets. This funding should include an additional $150 million a year for the Global Health-Nutrition sub-account and an additional

$100 million to be allocated across other accounts that support nutrition-sensitive programs or to support monitoring and evaluation of nutrition programs.

As always, additional funding for these important programs should not come at the expense of other life-saving humanitarian and poverty-reducing accounts. We also urge you to announce a commitment to increase transparency around nutrition funding, including a commitment to consistently use the new OECD nutrition policy marker to better track all funding supporting nutrition, and releasing on a publicly available website a detailed accounting of nutrition resources across all programs that feed into the U.S. Global Food Security Strategy.

At the N4G Summit, we ask that your Administration commit to align resources to meet the WHA 2025 Nutrition Targets with a focus on U.S. investments that contribute to increased coverage of key, evidence-based interventions, such as, vitamin A supplementation, breastfeeding support, micronutrient supplementation, and wasting treatment and prevention. We also urge your Administration to commit to strengthen your efforts to improve nutrition in adolescence and prioritize addressing the gender-specific and age-related nutrition needs of all women, especially pregnant women and adolescent girls. We ask as well that your Administration announce a robust learning agenda in the U.S. Global Nutrition Coordination Plan 2.0 and publicly publish a report on best practices in nutrition sensitive and specific interventions across development and humanitarian programming and how U.S. investments have and will continue to contribute to advancing on the 2025 WHA Nutrition Targets.

Finally, in light of 2022 representing the ten-year anniversary of the U.S. commitment to act on the call to end preventable maternal and child deaths, we urge you to commit to hosting a high-level event renewing and strengthening this commitment globally, recognizing nutrition as critical to child and maternal survival.

As you know, rates of malnutrition caused by the confluence of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising conflict, and the effects of climate change are reaching nearly unprecedented levels. According to a recent paper published in Nature, due to the pandemic, 283,000 more children under the age of five could die over the next two years if action is not taken to curb malnutrition rates – that equates to more than 250 children dying each day. The paper also finds that 13.6 million more children could be wasted (i.e. low weight for height) and 3.6 million more stunted (i.e. low height for age) due to the effects of the pandemic. In addition to the moral tragedy of children dying and suffering from a preventable cause, the nutrition crisis we are seeing around the world has serious economic impacts as well. Productivity losses could cost $44.3 billion. But by coming together with our partners and demonstrating leadership with a strong U.S. commitment at this year’s Nutrition for Growth Summit, we will save lives and create opportunity for millions of children and families.

Thank you again for leadership and support to help vulnerable children and families around the world have the chance for a better future. We look forward to working with your Administration.

Sincerely,

1,000 Days, an initiative of FHI Solutions
American Academy of Pediatrics
Bread for the World
Action Against Hunger
Alliance to End Hunger
CARE USA
Edesia
Food for the Hungry
HarvestPlus
John Snow, Inc. (JSI)
Micronutrient Forum
National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International
RESULTS
RISE Institute
Save the Children

Dietary Guidelines highlight life stages; organizations join together to promote resources and support

October 4, 2021 (WASHINGTON DC) Today is the nation’s first Child Health Day since the Dietary Guidelines for Americans began providing nutrition recommendations by life stage, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, and toddlerhood. With more grandparents caring for grandchildren and continued research demonstrating the power of the earliest years for children’s future health and well-being, public health and child nutrition groups are providing additional resources and support for grandfamilies.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 is the first edition to provide guidance on healthy dietary patterns for every life stage from birth through older adulthood. According to DietaryGuidelines.gov, this edition also emphasizes that it is never too early or too late to eat healthy.

In particular, infancy and toddlerhood provide an important opportunity to build long-lasting healthy habits, including a healthy beverage pattern. What children drink during the early years can help set them on a path for healthy growth and development.

“During the first 1,000 days, the brain grows more quickly than at any other time in a person’s life. Supporting the health and nutrition of families and children during this window of opportunity must be part of any strategy to promote health, reduce disparities and enable future generations to lead better lives,” said Blythe Thomas, 1,000 Days Initiative Director.

Research in the fields of neuroscience, biology and early childhood development provide powerful insights into how nutrition, relationships, and environments in the 1,000 days between a person’s pregnancy and a child’s 2nd birthday shape future outcomes.

A recent study from Generations United, Family Matters: Multigenerational Living Is on the Rise and Here to Stay, finds that the number of Americans living in a multigenerational household with three or more generations has nearly quadrupled over the past decade, with a dramatic increase of 271 percent from 2011 to 2021 (7% vs. 26%). Generations United estimates 66.7 million adults ages 18+ in the U.S. are living in a multigenerational household; that’s more than 1 in 4 Americans.

To support grandparents and older adults who are caring for young children, or who love and support pregnant and birthing people and their children, many resources are available, including:

• A new suite of videos targeted at grandparents: https://bit.ly/3io2t6e
• Resources available on HealthyDrinksHealthyKids.org; and
• The USDA Dietary Guidelines and resources for all Americans: https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/.
• Resources available via National WIC: https://www.nwica.org/position-papers

The new videos emphasize small steps grandparents can take to nourish the young kids in their lives, including avoiding serving sugary drinks and instead offering water or plain milk.

“With the rise of multigenerational families, we must recognize and support grandparents in their varied and essential roles in the lives of their grandchildren. Whether raising the children full time, providing care while parents work, or regularly visiting with them, grandparents can be critical figures in supporting their grandchildren’s healthy habits,” said Jaia Lent, Deputy Executive Director and Co-Director of the National Center on Grandfamilies, Generations United.

“Early childhood is an important time to start shaping nutrition habits and promoting healthy beverage consumption,” said Megan Lott, MPH, RD, Deputy Director of Healthy Eating Research. “Grandparents are such an important part of many families, playing an active role in caring for and helping to raise young children. These new videos are a great way to share evidence-based recommendations on what young children should be drinking as part of a healthy diet with this key audience.”

Since the first edition was published in 1980, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans have provided science-based advice on what to eat and drink to promote health, reduce risk of chronic disease, and meet nutrient needs.

Child Health Day became a national day of observance in 1928 when President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the day at the request of Congress. Ever since then, American presidents have issued proclamations in observance of this day in hopes of rallying the country to support children’s health.

About 1,000 Days

1,000 Days, an initiative of FHI Solutions, leads the fight to build a strong foundation for mothers, children, and families to thrive. The first 1,000 days from pregnancy to age 2 offer a window of opportunity to create a healthier and more equitable future for all pregnant, birthing, postpartum, and parenting people and their children. Our mission is to make health and well-being during the first 1,000 days a policy and funding priority, both in the U.S. and around the world. We envision a world in which families everywhere get the nutrition, care, and support they need. Our work is inspired and informed by families who strive every day to give their children a strong start to life.  Learn more at www.ThousandDays.org and follow us at Facebook.com/1000Days, Twitter.com/1000Days.

About Generations United:
For more than three decades, Generations United has been the catalyst for policies and practices stimulating cooperation and collaboration among generations, evoking the vibrancy, energy and sheer productivity that result when people of all ages come together. We believe that we can only be successful in the face of our complex future if generational diversity is regarded as a national asset and fully leveraged. The National Center on Grandfamilies is a critical part of Generations United’s mission and strives to enact policies and promote programs that support relative caregivers and the children they raise. www.gu.org

About Healthy Eating Research Center

Healthy Eating Research is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The program supports research on policy, systems, and environmental change strategies with strong potential to promote the health and well-being of children, and that advance health equity in the areas of nutrition, nutritional disparities, and food security. https://healthyeatingresearch.org/

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