摘要
Stunting has remained the nutrition condition of public health concern affecting one in three children under the five years Zimbabwe.Causes of stunting are multiple and poor infant and young child feeding(IYCF)practices are among the top factors associated with stunting.IYCF indicators in Zimbabwe are not performing very well with 61%of children 0 to 5 months being exclusively breastfed,and only 7%of children 6 to 23 months receiving minimum acceptable diet(MAD).The care group approach been piloted in 5 districts to promote and influence behaviour change towards uptake of optimal IYCF practices.The paper assesses progress made in the implementation of the approach after six months of implementation.Results show that implementation of the care group approach,with appropriate coordination structures at community level,yields considerable improvement in health,IYCF,and water and sanitation hygiene(WASH)behaviours and practices.Community level initiatives like income generating activities,food production,and cooking demonstrations are proving to be the sustainability pillars for the care group approach.Conclusively,with proper leadership and coordination,care groups help to affect behaviour change in improving the health,nutrition and caring practices for children.
