Valid International believes in evidence-based humanitarian action. Through its network of field researchers, and in partnership with International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs), United Nations agencies and bilateral donors, Valid has consistently pushed the boundaries of humanitarian research in a variety of nutrition-related field.
Valid has pioneered the use of Ready-to-Use Foods (RUFs) to address nutritional problems associated with HIV infection, integrating the delivery of nutritional assistance into existing home-based care programmes. Valid has also pioneered new techniques to assess coverage and evaluate programme impact by supporting the development of the Centric Systematic Area Sample (CSAS) and the Semi-Quantitative Evaluation of Access and Coverage (SQUEAC) techniques.
Valid has also put socio-cultural investigation at the heart of the nutrition programming agenda, by helping nutrition programmes around the world understand local perceptions of malnutrition, barriers to access and its impact in health seeking behaviour and programme attendance.
Recent operational research projects have included:
Integrating HIV services into a Community Therapeutic Care (CTC) programme in Malawi
Acceptability and Efficacy of a new Ready to-Use Food for HIV-positive Adults in Kenya
Use of RUFs in Chronically Sick Adults in Malawi
Impact of probiotic-enhanced RUFs on the treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in HIV-high prevalence areas
