This presentation by Kavita Chauhan, Public Health Foundation of India, was shown at the Transform Nutrition - Evidence for Action regional meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal on 8 July 2017. This one-day event shared Transform Nutrition evidence on key issues related to nutrition policy in Nepal, Bangladesh and India, lessons on strategies for change from other contexts and discuss the relevance and applicability of the research findings to policies/programmes that aim to address nutrition in South Asia.

1. Research uptake & communication
Enhancing use of data for nutrition in India

2. Purpose
• High level policy outreach at national and state levels in India
• Disseminate the findings of the report, along with other Transform
research and to encourage commitment to action on nutrition.
Objectives:
• Stakeholders are engaged with Transform Nutrition’s planned research;
• High quality communications meet the needs of stakeholders;
• A strong network of nutrition champions is created;
• Consortium members have increased research uptake capacity.

3. IHR - Research Uptake Activities

4. Insights
• Health and nutrition data are the lifeblood of public health practice,
however, use of data still not completely understood
• Translating research into effective health and nutrition policy:
converting data into a good message/policy brief/media
release/popular publication.
• Strategic approach to uptake - strengthen capacity and ability of
stakeholders to use data effectively
• Combining data with human interest stories helps to contextualise
the issues – highlight change agents, champions making a positive impact
• Media sensationalism comprises of good and bad sensationalism. Health
news has to be packaged well for the media to cover and cannot be
reported very clinically. Emphasis should be on local news.

5. Insights
• Identification of news points are very important for broadcast
especially news channels
• Embedding correct health and nutrition messages in stories will help
reinforce the recall of key messages and awareness among
communities.
• Socially relevant stories work, especially if they are well researched
and framed. Thus, the broader societal dimension, in the context of
public health nutrition, needs to be explored.
• Focus on people living in the periphery/tribal communities and
talk about their indigenous food practices.
• Enhancing capacity of journalists through mentorship and training.
e.g. POSHAN Media Fellowships
• Online platforms provide greater opportunity for contributions as
space is a major constraint in magazines and newspapers. However,
journalist should carefully validate the information before placing it on
social media.

6. Outputs
IHR - comprehensive knowledge base on nutrition, which
cuts across sectors
•National Launch by ministers of HFW &WCD - a powerful
statement of government commitment
•Commissioner of HFW, Hyderabad requested dashboard
for Telangana
•Cited in GoI’s draft National Plan of Action for Children
•Data/presentation generated much interest, media coverage
and requests for further data
•Cadre of trained journalists and District Nutrition Officers
inTechnical Support Units
•Learning events/platforms (Nutrition Coalition) used for
cross pollination of ideas, approaches
•Funders expressed interest in updating IHR data dashboards
•Scaling up media training under a new initiative led by PHFI
in the north eastern states of India

7. Thank you!