In 1992, AED developed PROFILES, a process for policy nutrition analysis and advocacy that gives context and consequence to national nutrition data. In 1997, AED formulated a spreadsheet model to calculate the health, child spacing, and economic benefits of breastfeeding and incorporated the model into PROFILES. The enhanced PROFILES tool was first applied in Ghana, where analysis indicated that only six percent of children under the age of six months exclusively breastfed. By using the "benefit of breastfeeding" spreadsheet model, a team of nutrition and health professionals from various government ministries, universities, and NGOs estimated that 5,500 infants die each year in Ghana as a result of sub-optimal breastfeeding practices. In concert with nutrition initiatives in Ghana, PROFILES energized the nutrition community to address poor infant feeding practices and mobilized the government to act upon its official commitment to nutrition. For the first time, the Ministry of Health included breastfeeding and young child nutrition among its top five child survival policy priorities. Since that time AED has supported two regional applications of PROFILES in Ghana, a national and regional application in Madagascar, national applications in Bolivia, El Salvador, and Togo, and has trained trainers in PROFILES methodologies in West Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa.

REDUCE

In Mozambique, AED has used REDUCE, an advocacy process that uses interactive computer models to stimulate policy dialogue and strategic planning. REDUCE helps document how investments in maternal care now will save the lives of 12,700 women and avert 223,000 disabilities by the year 2010. REDUCE is an advocacy process that uses interactive computer models to stimulate policy dialogue and strategic planning on issues of maternal health and safe motherhood. The REDUCE process uses international and country-specific data to estimate the impact of poor maternal health and care on maternal and child deaths, short- and long-term illnesses and disabilities, and productivity. REDUCE develops local capacity for data analysis and advocacy through a two-week participatory process that includes forming a multidisciplinary team, collecting and reviewing local and international data, entering and analyzing data, building consensus, training the team, and advocacy with government officials and donor representatives.

NetMark http://www.netmarkafrica.org

AED helped design and implement an effective information dissemination strategy through a well-designed Web site. NetMark promotes USAID's innovative approach to using public-private partnership to prevent malaria in Africa with insecticide-treated bednets. An important objective for the Netmark project's Web site was to convey the message that NetMark's market model would extend the reach of scarce public funds to the lowest economic segment of Africa. AED recommended and implemented the use of graphic animation to contrast the "before and after" models for disseminating bednets to families in Africa. AED provided site design and layout, as well as information architecture (site analysis). The interactive portions of the site also include a map of Africa.