FANTA-2 has designed the latest USAID online learning course on Nutrition (An Introduction). The course is available on USAID's Global Health eLearning Center portal. The course discusses the basic concepts of good nutrition and common nutritional deficiencies, the magnitude of malnutrition in different populations, vulnerable groups and the causes of undernutrition, and key indicators and ways of measuring them. It also outlines the major population-based interventions to improve nutritional status.

One-time registration at www.globalhealthlearning.org. provides free access to this and 49 other courses that cover a variety of global health topics. The course can be taken in about two hours. The reader can return to the course over a period of time.

GHeL courses are intended primarily for USAID mission staff and staff at Cooperating Agencies (CAs—other organizations that work closely with USAID) around the world. The GHeL platform is accessible using a low-bandwidth Internet connection.

On December 15, 2010, the Minister of Health in Bangladesh formally launched a number of communication activities to promote improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in Bangladesh. These activities include an action plan, TV spots, website, and a logo with a tagline linking good nutrition to child growth.

UNICEF has published a review of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) programs prepared by AED as part of UNICEF's midterm review of its Medium-Term Strategic Plan for 2006-2013. The review draws upon the findings from six case studies of national efforts to improve IYCF, especially breastfeeding, during the past 10-15 years. Click here for more details and to download the consolidated report as well as the six country case studies.

AED's FANTA-2 Project announces the publication of The Nutrition Program Design Assistant: A Tool for Program Planners (NPDA). This two-part tool was developed by the CORE Nutrition Working Group in collaboration with FANTA-2/AED and Save the Children to help nutrition program planning teams design community-based nutrition programs. Click here for more details and to download the documents.

The Alive & Thrive project announces the launch of a new website, e-newsletter, and technical series. Visit www.aliveandthrive.org and also click here for more details. Alive & Thrive (A&T) is an initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve infant and young child feeding in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Viet Nam and to inform policies and programs around the world.

Community-based Therapeutic Care (CTC): A Field Manual provides program managers, practitioners, and technical specialists addressing severe acute malnutrition with the essential design, implementation and evaluation protocols for implementing the CTC approach. As the CTC model is evolving, this first edition offers a solid foundation to build CTC programs at local and national levels. The manual is a product of collaboration between AED's FANTA Project (funded by USAID), Valid International, Concern Worldwide, and Development Cooperation Ireland.