Getting Research Into Policy & Practice at Scale: An implementation research project

This project aims to inform and facilitate high-impact, sustainable scale-up of care programmes for small and nutritionally at-risk infants aged under six months (infants at risk of poor growth & development). 

The project has four objectives:

• To ‘learn by doing’ by setting up MAMI demonstration/showcase sites in Bangladesh and Senegal.
• To conduct implementation research to inform scale up, including economic analysis, assessing health service readiness, acceptability and feasibility of the MAMI approach.
• To disseminate and share lessons learnt via our established MAMI Global Network
• To develop the foundations to test future innovations and grow the evidence base on MAMI effectiveness.

The project started in March 2025, and will run for 2 years, ending in March 2027. 

Phase 1

Phase 1 will inform and facilitate the adaptation and contextualisation of the MAMI Care-Pathway for future phase 2 use in country implementation demonstration sites in Senegal and Bangladesh. 

Specific objectives are to: 

1. Appraise national guidance and policies related to infants less than 6 months at-risk of malnutrition and their mothers.
2. Evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of future “MAMI services” as perceived by key stakeholders and develop country specific MAMI training materials.
3. Validate a MAMI health facility assessment tool and use it to assess service readiness to run the MAMI Care Pathway. 

Phase 2

Awaiting finalisation of protocol. 

MAMI GRIPPS is being implemented in partnership between London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Lamb Hospital Bangladesh, the Institut de Pédiatrie Sociale Senegal (IPS) and the Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN).

• LSHTM is the lead organisation of the project. LSHTM are directing the research component of the project.  Visit their website: https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/
• Lamb Bangladesh is a hospital and community programme established in 1983. Lamb will lead on the implementation research in north west Bangladesh. They will also lead training via their nationally-accredited training centre which also trains nurses and midwives. Visit their website: https://www.lambproject.org/
• IPS is a university linked paediatric institute in Senegal, with a focus on research and innovation in public health and nutrition. MAMI research and stakeholder collaboration in Senegal exists since 2016. IPS will lead on the implementation research in Senegal. Visit their website: https://ips.ucad.sn/
• ENN is an international non-governmental organisation working with practitioners, policy makers and researchers to strengthen know-how and evidence to overcome malnutrition. ENN will act as the knowledge and learning partner on this project, linking and building on the work of the MAMI Global Network. Visit MAMI Global Network | ENN