"Poshan", which means good nutrition in Nepali is ongoing research that involves two interlinked large-scale research studies being undertaken in 21 sites across the Mountains, Hills and Terai of Nepal. An observational cohort study being led by Johns Hopkins University in collaboration with Tufts University, the Nepali Technical Advisory Group (NTAG) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Tribhuvan University aims to assess annually the health and nutrition well-being of the rural Nepali population in relation to agriculture, nutrition and health program interventions across agro-ecological zones. The study will assess nutritional status of married women, adolescent girls, children less than 5 years, examine household food security patterns, knowledge, attitudes and practices of key behaviors, community/ward/VDC infrastructure in terms of type, number, services, exposure and uptake of agriculture, nutrition, health and microcredit programs, and contextual factors which could modify or confound the association between program exposures and outcomes of interest such as household socioeconomic status, caste, education, etc. The PoSHAN Study is an activity of the Nutrition Innovation Lab- Asia and supported by USAID.

Kathmandu, Nepal

• Keith West, Jr., DrPH MPH

• Swetha Manohar, MSPH RD