User talk:Profiles2011

'''About PROFILES: What it is, Uses and Applications

''' PROFILES, developed by the Academy for Educational Development in 1993 with funding from various sources, is a process for nutrition policy analysis and advocacy using computer-based models designed to demonstrate the contribution that improved nutrition can make to human and economic development. Until date PROFILES has been applied in over 35 countries around the world.

Usually PROFILES is used for nutrition advocacy as a way to engage national leaders in policy dialogue about public health nutrition and the benefits of improved nutrition through proposed interventions. PROFILES can also be used for program planning by nutrition and public health experts to examine the potential payoffs of alternative programs. Finally PROFILES is used for training as a way for users gain an appreciation of the various functional consequences of malnutrition and the potential impact of different interventions by working with a “live” computer-based model.

Based on the latest research, PROFILES examines relationships between nutritional problems and a variety of functional consequences. PROFILES analyzes the following nutritional problems: stunting, underweight, sub-optimal breastfeeding, vitamin A deficiency, iodine deficiency, and iron deficiency anemia. PROFILES has also looked into obesity and its related consequences. The nutritional conditions and subsequent consequences programmed in PROFILES include morbidity, mortality, productivity, health care costs, fertility and intelligence.

PROFILES can be customized to a specific country setting even though the process is different in each country application. Usually the PROFILES application is led by the country’s nutrition unit or Department within the Ministry of Health, with the participation of key multi-sectoral stakeholders working in government ministries such as for example health, education, agriculture, finance and planning, NGOs and academia. The PROFILES application takes place either in a workshop or in an informal consultation setting or can also be done at distance through e-consultation.

Some worldwide examples of PROFILES applications

In Russia the PROFILES simulation on the costs benefits of eliminating iodine deficiency were used by UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador and worldwide known chess player Mr. Karpov at the Russian Salt Producers meeting to convince policy-makers to make salt fortification obligatory. The PROFILES simulations showed that over a five-year period 200,000 newborns could be saved from brain damage if they had access to iodized salt. An advocacy strategy was also written and specific advocacy communication tools were developed to make policy-makers aware of the importance of having a mandatory salt iodization law.

In China chronic diseases were analyzed for the first time in PROFILES' history and the estimates showed that the current prevalence of stunting among children under-five contributes indirectly to a large portion of future overweight and coronary heart diseases.

In Guatemala in collaboration with La Roche, PROFILES raised awareness among high-level policy makers and political leaders about the benefits and cost-effectiveness of vitamin A sugar fortification. The simulation results were used for the full endorsement and implementation of policies on fortifying sugar with vitamin A.

In Madagascar following the PROFILES application the Madagascar National Office for Nutrition, in collaboration with many partners initiated a film DVD “Why invest in Nutrition” in Malagasy and French for a broader audience in 2003. Over time national and provincial Profiles presentations were developed. The different Profiles communication tools were viewed by more than 2,000 legislators, government officials, health professionals, journalists, and NGO partners. The Profiles advocacy was one of the factors that contributed to develop and adopt in 2004 a national Nutrition Policy.

In Togo a PROFILES workshop trained and brought together government, NGO, and donor representatives to focus on problems such as sub-optimal breastfeeding. The resulting PROFILES process led the government to adopt the Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.

'''Some References

'''	Aguayo VM, Ross J. The Monetary Value of Human Milk in Francophone West Africa: A PROFILES Analysis for Nutrition Policy Communication. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 2002; 23:153-161.

Aguayo V, Scott S and Ross J, Sierra Leone - Investing in nutrition to reduce poverty: a call for action, Public Health Nutrition: 6(&), 653-657, May 7, 2003.

Burkhalter BR, Abel E, Aguayo V, Diene SM, Parlato MB, Ross JS. Nutrition advocacy and national development: the PROFILES programme and its application. Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 1999; 77:407-15.

Burkhalter BR, Aguayo V, Diene SM, Parlato MB, Ross JS. PROFILES: A Data-based Approach to Nutrition Advocacy and Policy Development, BASICS Project, Arlington, 1998.

Horton S, Opportunities for Investment in Nutrition in Low-income Asia, Asian Development Review, Volume 17, Number 1 and 2: pp.246-273, Asian Development Bank, 1999.

León-Cava N, Lutter C, Ross J, Martin L. Quantifying the Benefits of Breastfeeding: A Summary of the Evidence. Washington, DC: Pan American Health Organization, 2002.

Menon P, Bringing nutrition into the political and technical mainstream: the role of effective communication, in United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition the 7th Abraham Horwitz Lecture, November 26, July 2003. Ross J, Horton S. Economic Consequences of Iron Deficiency. Ottawa: Micronutrient Initiative. 1998.

Sanghvi, T., Ross, J., and Heymann, H.: Why is Reducing Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies Critical for Development? In Food and Nutrition Bulletin, vol. 28. no. 1 (supplement). Tokyo: The United Nations University Press, 2007. (Part I)

PROFILES has been used for multi-country data analysis in the production of the MI / UNICEF Global Damage Report. Please refer to the data tables at the end of the report.

For more information access the website at http://www.aedprofiles.org/