What works? Interventions for maternal and child undernutrition and survival

Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences

Black, R. E., Allen, L. H., Bhutta, Z. A., Caulfield, L. E., de Onis, M., Ezzati, M., Mathers, C., & Rivera, J. (2008) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61690-0 · Cited by 6,443

WHO analysis of causes of maternal death: a systematic review

Khan, K. S., Wojdyla, D., Say, L., Gülmezoglu, A. M., & Van Look, P. F. (2006) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(06)68397-9 · Cited by 3,978

Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries

Grantham-McGregor, S., Cheung, Y. B., Cueto, S., Glewwe, P., Richter, L., & Strupp, B. (2007) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)60032-4 · Cited by 3,630

Evidence-based, cost-effective interventions: How many newborn babies can we save?

Darmstadt, G. L., Bhutta, Z. A., Cousens, S., Adam, T., Walker, N., & de Bernis, L. (2005) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)71088-6 · Cited by 1,541

Effects of routine prophylactic supplementation with iron and folic acid on admission to hospital and mortality in preschool children in a high malaria transmission setting: community-based, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Sazawal, S., Black, R. E., Ramsan, M., Chwaya, H. M., Stoltzfus, R. J., Dutta, A., Dhingra, U., Kabole, I., Deb, S., Othman, M. K., et al. (2006) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(06)67962-2 · Cited by 981

Effect of handwashing on child health: a randomised controlled trial

Luby, S. P., Agboatwalla, M., Feikin, D. R., Painter, J., Billhimer, W., Altaf, A., & Hoekstra, R. M. (2005) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)66912-7 · Cited by 748

Prevention of diarrhea and pneumonia by zinc supplementation in children in developing countries: Pooled analysis of randomized controlled trials

Bhutta, Z. A., Black, R. E., Brown, K. H., Gardner, J. M., Gore, S., Hidayat, A., Khatun, F., Martorell, R., Ninh, N. X., Penny, M. E., et al. (1999) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(99)70086-7 · Cited by 731

Costs and effectiveness of community postnatal support workers: randomised controlled trial

Morrell, C. J. (2000) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.321.7261.593 · Cited by 229

REDUCTION OF MALARIA DURING PREGNANCY BY PERMETHRIN-TREATED BED NETS IN AN AREA OF INTENSE PERENNIAL MALARIA TRANSMISSION IN WESTERN KENYA

TER KUILE, F. O., TERLOUW, D. J., PHILLIPS-HOWARD, P. A., HAWLEY, W. A., FRIEDMAN, J. F., KARIUKI, S. K., SHI, Y. P., KOLCZAK, M. S., LAL, A. A., VULULE, J. M., et al. (2003) · The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2003.68.50 · Cited by 204

Effect of zinc supplementation on mortality in children aged 1–48 months: a community-based randomised placebo-controlled trial

Sazawal, S., Black, R. E., Ramsan, M., Chwaya, H. M., Dutta, A., Dhingra, U., Stoltzfus, R. J., Othman, M. K., & Kabole, F. M. (2007) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)60452-8 · Cited by 138

Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries

Black, R. E., Victora, C. G., Walker, S. P., Bhutta, Z. A., Christian, P., de Onis, M., Ezzati, M., Grantham-McGregor, S., Katz, J., Martorell, R., et al. (2013) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(13)60937-x · Cited by 8,475

Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences

Black, R. E., Allen, L. H., Bhutta, Z. A., Caulfield, L. E., de Onis, M., Ezzati, M., Mathers, C., & Rivera, J. (2008) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61690-0 · Cited by 6,443

Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality: an updated systematic analysis for 2010 with time trends since 2000

Liu, L., Johnson, H. L., Cousens, S., Perin, J., Scott, S., Lawn, J. E., Rudan, I., Campbell, H., Cibulskis, R., Li, M., et al. (2012) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(12)60560-1 · Cited by 3,934

Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing

Patton, G. C., Sawyer, S. M., Santelli, J. S., Ross, D. A., Afifi, R., Allen, N. B., Arora, M., Azzopardi, P., Baldwin, W., Bonell, C., et al. (2016) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)00579-1 · Cited by 3,785

Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2000–13, with projections to inform post-2015 priorities: an updated systematic analysis

Liu, L., Oza, S., Hogan, D., Perin, J., Rudan, I., Lawn, J. E., Cousens, S., Mathers, C., & Black, R. E. (2015) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(14)61698-6 · Cited by 3,167

Evidence-based interventions for improvement of maternal and child nutrition: what can be done and at what cost?

Bhutta, Z. A., Das, J. K., Rizvi, A., Gaffey, M. F., Walker, N., Horton, S., Webb, P., Lartey, A., & Black, R. E. (2013) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(13)60996-4 · Cited by 3,093

Adolescence: A foundation for future health

Sawyer, S. M., Afifi, R. A., Bearinger, L. H., Blakemore, S.-J., Dick, B., Ezeh, A. C., & Patton, G. C. (2012) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(12)60072-5 · Cited by 2,635

Human nutrition, the gut microbiome and the immune system

Kau, A. L., Ahern, P. P., Griffin, N. W., Goodman, A. L., & Gordon, J. I. (2011) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature10213 · Cited by 2,588

Nutrition-sensitive interventions and programmes: how can they help to accelerate progress in improving maternal and child nutrition?

Ruel, M. T., & Alderman, H. (2013) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(13)60843-0 · Cited by 1,820

Global, regional, and national levels and causes of maternal mortality during 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

Kassebaum, N. J., Bertozzi-Villa, A., Coggeshall, M. S., Shackelford, K. A., Steiner, C., Heuton, K. R., Gonzalez-Medina, D., Barber, R., Huynh, C., Dicker, D., et al. (2014) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(14)60696-6 · Cited by 1,644

Strategies for reducing inequalities and improving developmental outcomes for young children in low-income and middle-income countries

Engle, P. L., Fernald, L. C., Alderman, H., Behrman, J., O'Gara, C., Yousafzai, A., de Mello, M. C., Hidrobo, M., Ulkuer, N., Ertem, I., et al. (2011) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(11)60889-1 · Cited by 995

Community health workers in low-, middle-, and high-income countries: an overview of their history, recent evolution, and current effectiveness

Perry, H. B., Zulliger, R., & Rogers, M. M. (2014) · Annual Review of Public Health · doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182354 · Cited by 944

Effects of gut microbes on nutrient absorption and energy regulation

Krajmalnik‐Brown, R., Ilhan, Z., Kang, D., & DiBaise, J. K. (2012) · Nutrition in Clinical Practice · doi:10.1177/0884533611436116 · Cited by 852

Global, regional, and national under-5 mortality, adult mortality, age-specific mortality, and life expectancy, 1970–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Wang, H., Abajobir, A. A., Abate, K. H., Abbafati, C., Abbas, K. M., Abd-Allah, F., Abera, S. F., Abraha, H. N., Abu-Raddad, L. J., Abu-Rmeileh, N. M. E., et al. (2017) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(17)31833-0 · Cited by 801

Interventions to address deaths from childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea equitably: what works and at what cost?

Bhutta, Z. A., Das, J. K., Walker, N., Rizvi, A., Campbell, H., Rudan, I., & Black, R. E. (2013) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(13)60648-0 · Cited by 675

The impoverished gut—a triple burden of diarrhoea, stunting and chronic disease

Guerrant, R. L., DeBoer, M. D., Moore, S. R., Scharf, R. J., & Lima, A. A. M. (2013) · Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology · doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2012.239 · Cited by 604

Farm production diversity is associated with greater household dietary diversity in Malawi: findings from nationally representative data

Jones, A. D., Shrinivas, A., & Bezner-Kerr, R. (2014) · Food Policy · doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.02.001 · Cited by 596

Daily oral iron supplementation during pregnancy

Peña-Rosas, J. P., De-Regil, L. M., Garcia-Casal, M. N., & Dowswell, T. (2015) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd004736.pub5 · Cited by 565

Vitamin A supplementation for preventing morbidity and mortality in children from six months to five years of age

Imdad, A., Mayo-Wilson, E., Herzer, K., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2017) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd008524.pub3 · Cited by 513

Global climate change and children's health: threats and strategies for prevention

Sheffield, P. E., & Landrigan, P. J. (2011) · Environmental Health Perspectives · doi:10.1289/ehp.1002233 · Cited by 502

Adult height, nutrition, and population health

Perkins, J. M., Subramanian, S. V., Davey Smith, G., & Özaltin, E. (2016) · Nutrition Reviews · doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuv105 · Cited by 405

Trends in mild, moderate, and severe stunting and underweight, and progress towards MDG 1 in 141 developing countries: a systematic analysis of population representative data

Stevens, G. A., Finucane, M. M., Paciorek, C. J., Flaxman, S. R., White, R. A., Donner, A. J., & Ezzati, M. (2012) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(12)60647-3 · Cited by 384

Impact of maternal education about complementary feeding and provision of complementary foods on child growth in developing countries

Imdad, A., Yakoob, M. Y., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2011) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-s3-s25 · Cited by 370

The projected effect of scaling up midwifery

Homer, C. S. E., Friberg, I. K., Dias, M. A. B., ten Hoope-Bender, P., Sandall, J., Speciale, A. M., & Bartlett, L. A. (2014) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(14)60790-x · Cited by 323

Overview of the Lives Saved Tool (LiST).

Walker, N., Tam, Y., & Friberg, I. K. (2013) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-s3-s1 · Cited by 308

Vitamin A and retinoic acid in T cell-related immunity

Ross, A. C. (2012) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.112.034637 · Cited by 261

Women in Resource-Poor Settings Are at Risk of Inadequate Intakes of Multiple Micronutrients

Torheim, L. E., Ferguson, E. L., Penrose, K., & Arimond, M. (2010) · The Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.3945/jn.110.123463 · Cited by 240

Evidence of a Double Burden of Malnutrition in Urban Poor Settings in Nairobi, Kenya

Kimani-Murage, E. W., Muthuri, S. K., Oti, S. O., Mutua, M. K., van de Vijver, S., & Kyobutungi, C. (2015) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0129943 · Cited by 219

Impacts of domestic violence on child growth and nutrition: A conceptual review of the pathways of influence

Yount, K. M., DiGirolamo, A. M., & Ramakrishnan, U. (2011) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.02.042 · Cited by 224

Beyond the building blocks: integrating community roles into health systems frameworks to achieve health for all

Sacks, E., Morrow, M., Story, W. T., Shelley, K. D., Shanklin, D., Rahimtoola, M., Rosales, A., Ibe, O., & Sarriot, E. (2019) · BMJ Global Health · doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2018-001384 · Cited by 203

Socioeconomic gradients and child development in a very low income population: evidence from Madagascar

Fernald, L. C. H., Weber, A., Galasso, E., & Ratsifandrihamanana, L. (2011) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.01032.x · Cited by 211

Malaria in pregnancy: small babies, big problem

Umbers, A. J., Aitken, E. H., & Rogerson, S. J. (2011) · Trends in Parasitology · doi:10.1016/j.pt.2011.01.007 · Cited by 200

Environmental enteric dysfunction and child stunting

Budge, S., Parker, A. H., Hutchings, P. T., & Garbutt, C. (2019) · Nutrition Reviews · doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuy068 · Cited by 201

How countries can reduce child stunting at scale: lessons from exemplar countries

Bhutta, Z. A., Akseer, N., Keats, E. C., Vaivada, T., Baker, S., Horton, S. E., Katz, J., Menon, P., Piwoz, E., Shekar, M., et al. (2020) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqaa153 · Cited by 187

Sanitation and Hygiene-Specific Risk Factors for Moderate-to-Severe Diarrhea in Young Children in the Global Enteric Multicenter Study, 2007–2011: Case-Control Study

Baker, K. K., O’Reilly, C. E., Levine, M. M., Kotloff, K. L., Nataro, J. P., Ayers, T. L., Farag, T. H., Nasrin, D., Blackwelder, W. C., Wu, Y., et al. (2016) · PLOS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002010 · Cited by 137

Causes and consequences of child growth faltering in low-resource settings

Mertens, A., Benjamin-Chung, J., Colford, J. M., Coyle, J., van der Laan, M. J., Hubbard, A. E., Rosete, S., Malenica, I., Hejazi, N., Sofrygin, O., et al. (2023) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06501-x · Cited by 130

Valorisation of post-sorption materials: Opportunities, strategies, and challenges

Harikishore Kumar Reddy, D., Vijayaraghavan, K., Kim, J. A., & Yun, Y.-S. (2017) · Advances in Colloid and Interface Science · doi:10.1016/j.cis.2016.12.002 · Cited by 127

Evaluation of health workforce competence in maternal and neonatal issues in public health sector of Pakistan: an Assessment of their training needs

Ariff, S., Soofi, S. B., Sadiq, K., Feroze, A. B., Khan, S., Jafarey, S. N., Ali, N., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2010) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/1472-6963-10-319 · Cited by 121

Maternal, neonatal, and child health in southeast Asia: towards greater regional collaboration.

Acuin, C. S., Khor, G. L., Liabsuetrakul, T., Achadi, E. L., Htay, T. T., Firestone, R., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2011) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(10)62049-1 · Cited by 108

Breastfeeding rates in central and western China in 2010: implications for child and population health

Guo, S., Fu, X., Scherpbier, R. W., Wang, Y., Zhou, H., Wang, X., & Hipgrave, D. B. (2013) · Bulletin of the World Health Organization · doi:10.2471/blt.12.111310 · Cited by 100

Infant- and Young Child-feeding Practices in Bankura District, West Bengal, India

Mukhopadhyay, D. K., Sinhababu, A., Panja, T. K., Saren, A. B., Mandal, N. K., & Biswas, A. B. (2010) · Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition · doi:10.3329/jhpn.v28i3.5559 · Cited by 99

Point-of-use fortification of foods with micronutrient powders containing iron in children of preschool and school-age

De-Regil, L. M., Jefferds, M. E. D., & Peña-Rosas, J. P. (2017) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd009666.pub2 · Cited by 92

Mediation of the effect of malaria in pregnancy on stillbirth and neonatal death in an area of low transmission: observational data analysis.

Moore, K. A., Fowkes, F. J. I., Wiladphaingern, J., Wai, N. S., Paw, M. K., Pimanpanarak, M., Carrara, V. I., Raksuansak, J., Simpson, J. A., White, N. J., et al. (2017) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12916-017-0863-z · Cited by 83

The snack attack

Monteiro, C. A., Gomes, F. S., & Cannon, G. (2010) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2009.187666 · Cited by 88

Peer Support and Exclusive Breastfeeding Duration in Low and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Sudfeld, C. R., Fawzi, W. W., & Lahariya, C. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045143 · Cited by 83

Comprehensive review of the evidence regarding the effectiveness of community–based primary health care in improving maternal, neonatal and child health: 6. strategies used by effective projects

Perry, H. B., Sacks, E., Schleiff, M., Kumapley, R., Gupta, S., Rassekh, B. M., & Freeman, P. A. (2017) · Journal of Global Health · doi:10.7189/jogh.07.010906 · Cited by 68

Effects of single and combined water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions on nutritional status of children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Gizaw, Z., & Worku, A. (2019) · Italian Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1186/s13052-019-0666-2 · Cited by 57

Solid fuel use is associated with anemia in children

Accinelli, R. A., & Leon-Abarca, J. A. (2017) · Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.envres.2017.06.032 · Cited by 44

School Children’s Intestinal Parasite and Nutritional Status One Year after Complementary School Garden, Nutrition, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Interventions in Burkina Faso

Erismann, S., Diagbouga, S., Schindler, C., Odermatt, P., Knoblauch, A. M., Gerold, J., Leuenberger, A., Shrestha, A., Tarnagda, G., Utzinger, J., et al. (2017) · The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · doi:10.4269/ajtmh.16-0964 · Cited by 42

Maternal undernutrition and intrauterine growth restriction

Salam, R. A., Das, J. K., Ali, A., Lassi, Z. S., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2013) · Expert Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology · doi:10.1586/17474108.2013.850857 · Cited by 40

Nutrition in early life: a global priority

Victora, C. G. (2009) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(09)61725-6 · Cited by 35

Cumulative risks and cessation of exclusive breast feeding: Australian cross-sectional survey

Ayton, J., van der Mei, I., Wills, K., Hansen, E., & Nelson, M. (2015) · Archives of Disease in Childhood · doi:10.1136/archdischild-2014-307833 · Cited by 34

Peer Counseling Promotes Appropriate Infant Feeding Practices and Improves Infant Growth and Development in an Urban Slum in Bangladesh: A Community-Based Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Ara, G., Khanam, M., Papri, N., Nahar, B., Kabir, I., Sanin, K. I., Khan, S. S., Sarker, M. S. A., & Dibley, M. J. (2019) · Current Developments in Nutrition · doi:10.1093/cdn/nzz072 · Cited by 27

Maternal mineral and vitamin supplementation in pregnancy

Yakoob, M. Y., Khan, Y. P., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2010) · Expert Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology · doi:10.1586/eog.10.8 · Cited by 24

An analysis of determinants of under-5 mortality across countries: defining priorities to achieve targets in sustainable developmental goals

Acheampong, M., Ejiofor, C., & Salinas-Miranda, A. (2017) · Maternal and Child Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10995-017-2260-9 · Cited by 22

Transition between stunted and nonstunted status: both occur from birth to 15 years of age in Malawi children

Teivaanmäki, T., Cheung, Y. B., Kortekangas, E., Maleta, K., & Ashorn, P. (2015) · Acta Paediatrica · doi:10.1111/apa.13060 · Cited by 18

The importance of assessing and addressing mental health barriers to PrEP use during pregnancy and postpartum in sub‐Saharan Africa: state of the science and research priorities

Stanton, A. M., O'Cleirigh, C., Knight, L., Davey, D. L. J., Myer, L., Joska, J. A., Mayer, K. H., Bekker, L., & Psaros, C. (2022) · Journal of the International AIDS Society · doi:10.1002/jia2.26026 · Cited by 13

Facilitators and barriers of maternal and infant healthcare access for undocumented migrants in the first 1000 days of life: a systematic review of the literature

Montagnoli, C., Neeser, N. B., Elger, B. S., & Wangmo, T. (2025) · Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters · doi:10.1080/26410397.2025.2560189 · Cited by 4