Background Peru reduced its under-5 child stunting prevalence notably from 31.3% in 2000 to 13.1% in 2016. Objectives We aimed to study factors and key enablers of child stunting reduction in Peru from 2000–2016. Methods Demographic and Health Surveys were used to conduct descriptive analyses [height-for-age z scores (HAZ) means and distributions, equity analysis, predicted child growth curves through polynomial regressions] and advanced regression analyses. An ecological (at department level) multilevel regression analysis was conducted to identify the major predictors of stunting decline from 2000 to 2016, and Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition was conducted to identify the relative contribution of each factor to child HAZ change. A systematic literature review, policy and program analysis, and interviews with relevant stakeholders were conducted to understand key drivers of stunting decline in Peru. Results The distribution of HAZ scores showed a slight rightward shift from 2000 to 2007/2008, and a greater shift from 2007/2008 to 2016. Stunting reduction was higher in the lowest wealth quintile, in rural areas, and among children with the least educated mothers. Decomposing predicted changes showed that the most important factors were increased maternal BMI and maternal height, improved maternal and newborn health care, increased parental education, migration to urban areas, and reduced fertility. Key drivers included the advocacy role of civil society and political leadership around poverty and stunting reduction since the early 2000s. Key enablers included the economic growth and the consolidation of democracy since the early 2000s, and the acknowledgement that stunting reduction needs much more than food supplementation. Conclusions Peru reduced child stunting owing to improved socioeconomic determinants, sustained implementation of out-of-health-sector and within-health-sector changes, and implementation of health interventions. These efforts were driven through a multisectoral approach, strong civil society advocacy, and keen political leadership. Peru's experience offers useful lessons on how to tackle the problem of stunting under differing scenarios, with the participation of multiple sectors.

Background Chronic child malnutrition represents a serious global health concern. Over the last several decades, Nepal has seen a significant decline in linear growth stunting – a physical manifestation of chronic malnutrition – despite only modest economic growth and significant political instability. Objective This study aimed to conduct an in-depth assessment of the determinants of stunting reduction in Nepal from 1996 to 2016, with specific attention paid to national-, community-, household-, and individual-level factors, as well as relevant nutrition-specific and -sensitive initiatives rolled out within the country. Methods Using a mixed-methods approach, 4 types of inquiry were employed: 1) a systematic review of published peer-reviewed and gray literature; 2) retrospective quantitative data analyses using Demographic and Health Surveys from 1996 to 2016; 3) a review of key nutrition-specific and -sensitive policies and programs; and 4) retrospective qualitative data collection and analyses. Results Mean height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) improved by 0.94 SDs from 1996 to 2016. Subnational variation and socioeconomic inequalities in stunting outcomes persisted, with the latter widening over time. Decomposition analysis for children aged under 5 y explained 90.9% of the predicted change in HAZ, with key factors including parental education (24.7%), maternal nutrition (19.3%), reduced open defecation (12.3%), maternal and newborn health care (11.5%), and economic improvement (9.0%). Key initiatives focused on decentralizing the health system and mobilizing community health workers to increase accessibility; long-standing nationwide provision of basic health interventions; targeted efforts to improve maternal and child health; and the prioritization of nutrition-sensitive initiatives by both government and donors. National and community stakeholders and mothers at village level highlighted a mixture of poverty reduction, access to health services, improved education, and increased access to water, sanitation, and hygiene as drivers of stunting reduction. Conclusions Improvements in both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive sectors have been critical to Nepal's stunting decline, particularly in the areas of poverty reduction, health, education, and sanitation.

Introduction: Menopause is an unavoidable and sometimes problematic condition in which women may suffer from a number of health problems. Knowledge of the major symptoms associated with menopause helps reduce the burden and stress associated with the condition. In this context, a study was conducted to establish baseline data regarding menopausal health problems among Nepalese women. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 2000 women aged over 40 years to identify their knowledge, attitude and practice related to menopausal health problems. Data was collected by interviewing the women and doing physical examination. Analysis was done using descriptive statistics and SPSS software was used for data analysis. Results: A cohort of 2073 women (ages 40-60 years) participated in the research, among them 2000 yielded complete response. The study revealed that 820 (41%) women had reached menopause. The average age of menopause was 48.7 years. Majority of the women 1183 (59.2%) in the study did not know about menopausal health problems. Abnormal bleeding 353 (17.65%), sweating 315 (15.75%), hot flushes 299 (14.95%), joint/muscle pain 285 (14.25%) were the most common menopausal symptoms known by the women. Joint pain 736 (36.8%), hot flushes 584 (29.2%), irregular bleeding 582 (29.1%) were the most common experienced symptoms of menopause and only 586 (29.3%) consulted the health workers to alleviate menopausal symptoms. Moreover, most of the women 926 (46.3%) accepted menopause as a part of life. Conclusions: The research has tried to establish the baseline of menopausal health problems in the Nepalese women. The average age of menopause was 48.7 years. Majority did not know about menopausal health problems. Further researches with nationally representative sample are recommended to further explore the menopausal health problems of Nepalese women.Keywords: health problems; menopause; Nepal; women.

Background Achieving maternal and newborn related Sustainable Development Goals targets is challenging for Nepal, mainly due to poor quality of maternity services. In this context, we aim to assess the Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC) service availability and readiness in health facilities in Nepal by analyzing data from Nepal Health Facility Survey (NHFS), 2015. Methods We utilized cross-sectional data from the nationally representative NHFS, 2015. Service availability was measured by seven signal functions of BEmONC, and service readiness by the availability and functioning of supportive items categorized into three domains: staff and guidelines, diagnostic equipment, and basic medicine and commodities. We used the World Health Organization’s service availability and readiness indicators to estimate the readiness scores. We performed a multiple linear regression to identify important factors in the readiness of the health facilities to provide BEmONC services. Results The BEmONC service readiness score was significantly higher in public hospitals compared with private hospitals and peripheral public health facilities. Significant factors associated with service readiness score were the facility type (14.69 points higher in public hospitals, P<0.001), number of service delivery staff (2.49 points increase per each additional delivery staff, P<0.001), the service hours (4.89 points higher in facilities offering 24-hour services, P = 0.01) and status of periodic review of maternal and newborn deaths (4.88 points higher in facilities that conducted periodic review, P = 0.043). Conclusions These findings suggest that BEmONC services in Nepal could be improved by increasing the number of service delivery staff, expanding service hours to 24-hours a day, and conducting periodic review of maternal and newborn deaths at health facilities, mainly in the peripheral public health facilities. The private hospitals need to be encouraged for BEmONC service readiness.

Nepal was hard hit by a second wave of COVID-19 from April–May 2021. We investigated the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 at the national and provincial levels by using data on laboratory-confirmed RT-PCR positive cases from the official national situation reports. We performed 8 week-to-week sequential forecasts of 10-days and 20-days at national level using three dynamic phenomenological growth models from 5 March 2021–22 May 2021. We also estimated effective and instantaneous reproduction numbers at national and provincial levels using established methods and evaluated the mobility trends using Google’s mobility data. Our forecast estimates indicated a declining trend of COVID-19 cases in Nepal as of June 2021. Sub-epidemic and Richards models provided reasonable short-term projections of COVID-19 cases based on standard performance metrics. There was a linear pattern in the trajectory of COVID-19 incidence during the first wave (deceleration of growth parameter (p) = 0.41–0.43, reproduction number (Rt) at 1.1 (95% CI: 1.1, 1.2)), and a sub-exponential growth pattern in the second wave (p = 0.61 (95% CI: 0.58, 0.64)) and Rt at 1.3 (95% CI: 1.3, 1.3)). Across provinces, Rt ranged from 1.2 to 1.5 during the early growth phase of the second wave. The instantaneous Rt fluctuated around 1.0 since January 2021 indicating well sustained transmission. The peak in mobility across different areas coincided with an increasing incidence trend of COVID-19. In conclusion, we found that the sub-epidemic and Richards models yielded reasonable short-terms projections of the COVID-19 trajectory in Nepal, which are useful for healthcare utilization planning.