What is Nutrition Modeling?
Nutrition Modeling refers mostly to computer assisted optimization routines that seek to select a best solution (with regard to some nutrition objective) among a set of available policy or program alternatives. However, not all tools represented on the Consortium follow mathematical optimization algorithms. Some use spreadsheet formula, while other use qualitative methods to drill down on nutrition data. Regardless of their design, they all share the intent of improving the use of available knowledge and data in designing nutrition policies and programs.
Consortium Mandate
The mandate of the Nutrition Modeling Consortium is to:
- Increase end-users’ input in the specification of services to be provided by these tools.
- Help end-users understand better how those tool can serve their nutrition programming needs.
- Advance the joint utility and effectiveness of the modeling tools through a collective effort by nutrition modelers in order to enhance their technical inter-operability, and improve their usability to end-users.
Contact
How the Consortium Works
The Consortium of Nutrition Modelers aims to improve the use of the evidence base in policy and program decision making through the use of mathematical modeling of nutrition activities. It is led by a Scientific Organizing committee composed of nutrition modelers and end-users. The Secretariat has the responsibility of linking the SOC to the modeling community and to end-users, to coordinate the work of the Consortium and to organize and convene meetings of the Consortium.
Background
In April 2017, the Institute partnered with the Micronutrient Forum to convene a two-day technical consultation to review seven tools designed to help decision makers in low middle income countries (LMIC) develop and streamline their nutrition programs and interventions. These tools were selected on the basis of their ability to elaborate nutrition policy scenarios adapted to national priorities and contexts, whether through the use of mathematical optimization routines or other evidence-based analytical approaches. Services provided by those tools range from advocacy to allocative efficiency to budget planning. The meeting highlighted the deep capabilities of those tools, and several examples were presented of successful use that confirmed their potential utility to nutrition policy making. Yet their adoption by end-users in LMICs remains limited. To palliate for this, the New York Academy of Sciences was awarded a 2.5 year grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to create a consortium for nutrition modeling aimed at improving the usability of tools, and at increasing their uptake by end users.
Scientific Organizing Committee
Banda Ndiaye
Nutrion International
David Wilson
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Gilles Bergeron
Senior Vice President, Food and Nutrition, The New York Academy of Sciences
Lynette Neufeld
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
Purnima Menon
IFPRI
Saskia Osendarp
Consultant
Project Consultant
Frances Knight
Project Consultant
The Nutrition Modeling Consortium regroups personnel that support modeling tools, working at diverse institutions worldwide. It also includes in-country end users, such as Ministries of Health, Nutrition Departments, and implementers such as NGOs, or technical planners in-country. Membership to the Consortium is open to all stakeholders working in this area, provided they contribute to the group’s common goals.
Consortium Members
Fill the Nutrient Gap / Cost of the Diet (FNG/CotD)
Website: Tools for Food Security and Nutrition Analysis
Contact: Saskia De Pee and Frances Knight
Parent institution: World Food Programme
Tool Summary
Intake Modeling and Prediction Program (IMAPP)
Website: Software for Intake Distribution Estimation
Contact: Lindsay Allen and Alicia Carriquiry
Parent institutions: University of California, Davis and Iowa State University
Lives Saved Tool (LiST)
Website: The LiST page
Contact: Rebecca Heidkamp and Neff Walker
Parent institution: Johns Hopkins University
MiniMOD
Website: MiniMOD Tool Overview
Contact: Steve Vosti and Reina Engle-Stone
Parent institution: University of California, Davis
Tool Summary
Outcome Modeling for Nutrition Impact (OMNI)
Website: The OMNI Tool
Contact: Andrew Thompson and Homero Martinez
Parent institution: Nutrition International
Tool Summary
Optifood
Contact: Elaine Ferguson
Parent institution: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Tool Summary
Optima Nutrition
Website: The Optima Nutrition Tool
Contact: Jakub Kakietek and Nick Scott
Parent institution: Burnet Institute, Optima Consortium for Decision Science and The World Bank
Tool Summary
Profiles
Website: Profiles
Contact: Kavita Sethuraman and Monica Woldt
Parent institution: FANTA III
Tool Summary
MMS Cost-Benefit Tool
Website: MMS Cost-Benefit Tool
Contact: Jennifer Busch-Hallen and Homero Martinez
Parent institution: Nutrition International
Cost of Not Breastfeeding
Website: Cost of Not Breastfeeding
Contact: Dylan Walters and Roger Mathisen
Parent institution: Alive and Thrive
Thrive
Contact: Chris Sudfeld
Parent institution: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Micronutrient Action Policy Support (MAPS)
Website: https://micronutrient.support/
Contact: Edward Joy
Parent institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Tool Summary
SEEMS-Nutrition Common Approach & Tools
Website: SEEMS-Nutrition
Contact: Carol Levin and Devon Bushnell
Parent Institution: University of Washington, Department of Global Health (UW DGH)
Tool Summary
Contact
Past Events
Micronutrient Forum Global Conference, Bangkok, Thailand 2020
ANH Conference, 2020
Doing More with Less: Tools to Help Governments Optimize Nutrition Funding’s Impact - Webinar on Optima Nutrition and MINIMOD 2020
EAT Food Forum, Stockholm, Sweden 2019
SLAN Conference, Guadalajara, Mexico 2018
Optima Nutrition Training, Pretoria, South Africa 2018
African Nutritional Epidemiology Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2018
American Society for Nutrition, Boston, Massachusetts 2018
See presentation
SUN Movement Global Gathering Parallel Workshop, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire 2017
Read the full report
Initiatives
Occasionally, members of the Consortium team up to jointly address special needs that are not yet covered by the group. Ongoing “work packages” are listed below:
Modeling the impact of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) on antenatal and postnatal outcomes
Led by the MMS taskforce, a module will be developed that allows to estimate, based on national data, the effect of switching from IFA to MMS in antenatal care programs on the following indicators: low birth weight; small for gestational age; pre-term birth; etc.).
Nutrition Theory of Change: Visualizer
Led by the LiST team at Johns Hopkins University, an interactive visualization framework is under development. The framework provides a visualization of the various impact pathways affecting nutrition outcomes, documenting the literature, datasets, assumptions, and much more. This means to elaborate further the UNICEF’s Nutrition Conceptual Framework. All consortium members participate in this initiative.
Contact
As a resource and communications hub for nutrition modeling tools, below is a repository of useful resources from consortium members and their respective tools, spanning from technical briefs, tool video tutorials, tool software, publications, and so on. To get started, pick an item from the table of contents below.
- Global Application of Nutrition Modeling Tools
- NMC Meeting Reports
- Case Studies
- Video Tutorials
- Mini Tool Clips
- Software
- User Manuals
- Media
- Data Sources
- Reports and Technical Briefs
- Peer Review Journal Articles
- SEEMS Common Approach & Tools
Global Application of Nutrition Modeling Tools
Contact
NMC Meeting Reports
Case Studies
Video Tutorials
Fill the Nutrient Gap/Cost of the Diet
Country Level Nutrition Advocacy using PROFILES
Mini Tool Clips
Fill the Nutrient Gap Assessment
Optima Nutrition Model: A Tool to Optimize Resource Allocation
Software
User Manuals
Manual for Country Level Nutrition Advocacy using PROFILES and Nutrition Costing
Media
The Nutrition Modeling Consortium: Improving Data Use for Nutrition Policy
[Webinar] Doing More with Less: Tools to Help Governments Optimize Nutrition Funding's Impact
Intro to LiST: Background and History
LiST Calculations, Advantages and Disadvantages
How has the “Fill the Nutrient Gap” tool been strategically used by WFP Ghana?
Introduction to Fill the Nutrient Gap Tool