Impact Evaluation of GAIN Egg Campaign in Two Nigerian States

Overview

Improved infant and young child feeding, including dietary quality and diversity, is important for child health and development. In the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, only 18% of children 6-23 months of age received at least 4 food groups in the previous 24 hours. In Kaduna, one of the poorest states, dietary diversity is low and consumption of eggs is infrequent, with households reporting consuming eggs only one day per week. Eggs are a nutrient-dense food, which can contribute enormously to a child's dietary quality. This study evaluates whether a 14-month behavior change intervention about eggs can increase the procurement and consumption of eggs in children 6-59 months of age living in Nigeria. The intervention includes delivery of messages about the health benefits of eggs through Above-the-line methods and Below-the-line methods. The intervention is evaluated using a longitudinal quasi-experimental design in two states in Nigeria with pre- and post-test questionnaires designed to assess changes in acquisition and consumption of eggs.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) seeks to improve dietary quality among children under-five years of age in Kaduna by increasing the demand for eggs through above-the-line and below-the-line behavior change interventions incorporating mass media, social media, and point-of-sale (POS) marketing. Above-the-line (ATL) interventions include television, radio, celebrity ambassadors and out-of-home (OOH) advertising (e.g., billboards). Below-the-line interventions (BTL) include interpersonal communication (IPC) activation, trade promotions, point-of-sale materials, food demonstrations and giveaways and door-to-door activation. GAIN conducted a quasi-experimental longitudinal study of a demand creation campaign, using ATL and BTL interventions, among families of children 6-59 months of age to determine the impact on egg consumption among children and egg acquisition. Kaduna state was chosen as the intervention arm, and Kano state as the comparison arm. Within Kaduna state, the Kaduna North and Chikun local government areas (LGAs) were selected to receive ATL and BTL demand creation interventions. The comparison state, Kano, received no demand creation campaign. The principal comparison for measuring the effect of demand creation interventions will be across states, comparing the combined effects of ATL and BTL interventions with the comparison areas which received no intervention. Investigators also set out to determine the impact of this intervention on mediating outcomes in the hypothesized causal framework. Proximal mediators included caregivers' attitudes and beliefs toward eggs and willingness to pay for eggs.