Who We Are

Tufts University

The Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University was established in 1981 with the mission of bringing together biomedical, social, political, and behavioral scientists to conduct research, educational, and community-service programs to improve the nutritional health and well-being of populations throughout the world.

Principal Investigator

 

Dr. Webb is the Alexander McFarlane Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. As Chief of Nutrition in World Food Programme (2003-2006), he oversaw programs in 30 countries and played a key role in organizing response to food and nutrition needs in many emergencies. This underscores Professor Webb’s globally recognized leadership in defining policies and actions relevant to food aid. Professor Webb is also the Director of the Nutrition Innovation Lab, which generates empirical findings relevant to USAID programming in agriculture, health, and nutrition. Professor Webb was one of the core authors in the 2013 Maternal and Child Health Lancet Series. He is currently serving as senior adviser to the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition. 

Co-Principal Investigator

 

Dr. Rogers is Professor of Economics and Food Policy and Director of the Food Policy and Applied Nutrition Program at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, where she has been on the faculty since 1982. Prof. Rogers has over 30 years of experience promoting evidence-based policy and programs related to food security, food consumption, and nutrition in the developing world. She has been responsible for the design and implementation of national household income, expenditure, and consumption surveys in several countries, and has conducted many smaller scale surveys of household economic and consumption behaviors looking at the determinants of intra-household resource allocation and the effects of food price subsidies and agricultural policies on food consumption and nutrition. She has worked on estimating cost- effectiveness in food assistance programs in Ethiopia and Malawi. She recently served as PI of a study that focuses on how the effects of food aid programs can be made sustainable after the programs are closed (a 4 year, 4-country study).  In addition to her work on the Food Aid Quality Review, she is working on a project to improve dietary data collection methods and promote the use of such data in policy-making. 

Past Partners

Project Peanut Butter

Project Peanut Butter (PPB) is a local non-governmental organization providing programmatic and humanitarian assistance to malnourished children and pregnant women in Sierra Leone. All PPB ready-to-use therapeutic food aid products are produced locally on a cost recovery basis. PPB partnered with FAQR to provide supplementary food aid products and run the feeding program for the moderate acute malnutrition cost effectiveness study in the Pujehun District.

Save the Children

Save the Children is an international non-governmental organization that promotes children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries. Along with ACDI/VOCA, SAVE supported FAQR’s research study in Burkina Faso by managing commodity transport, providing on-site commodity management and oversight of the food distribution, and contributing to search dissemination. ACDI/VOCA and SAVE field staff also accompanied FAQR's Field Research Director to local stakeholder meetings and other in-country collaborators.

ACDI/VOCA

ACDI/VOCA is an economic development organization that fosters broad-based economic growth, raises living standards, and creates vibrant communities. Based in Washington, D.C., ACDI/VOCA has worked in 146 countries since 1963. Its practice areas are catalyzing investment, climate smart agriculture, empowerment and resilience, institutional strengthening, and market systems. In Burkina Faso, ACDI/VOCA managed the USAID Title II funded Victory against Malnutrition (ViM) Project.

Caritas Bo

Caritas Bo’s mission is to eradicate extreme poverty, promote social justice, and restore human dignity. Caritas Bo is a chapter of Caritas Sierra Leone, the relief and development wing of the Catholic Church in Sierra Leone. Caritas Bo managed the Field Survey component of the FAQR Phase III Four Foods Study in Pujehun District, Sierra Leone. 

Washington University, St. Louis

During FAQR Phase II, Tufts partnered with Wash U, School of Medicine to assess effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of foods for treatment of MAM. In FAQR Phase III, Wash U’s responsibilities included assistance with site selection, coordination with in-country collaborators, and start-up and implementation of research. Wash U provided expertise in protocol development and leadership in the implementation of the clinical aspects of the study and worked closely with Tufts to provide expertise in protocol development for the three sub-studies.

Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé

IRSS is the national health sciences research institute in Burkina Faso. During FAQR Phase II, Tufts subcontracted with IRSS to contribute in the research protocol and data tools design, to assure the field team training, to collect child anthropometrics and morbidity data at monthly food distribution sites as well as to conduct interviews and focus groups. IRSS was also responsible for monitoring data quality and collecting water and porridge samples for lab testing.

Global Food & Nutrition

Global Food & Nutrition Inc. is a consulting firm working to protect food systems and bring enhanced, diversified foods to consumers, improving their nutrition and food security, helping individuals thrive and creating healthy families and communities.