Chilenje Infant Growth Nutrition and Infection Study (CIGNIS)
The CIGNIS study is investigating whether low cost complementary foods made from locally available ingredients can improve the nutrition and health of infants and young children in Lusaka, Zambia. The study will focus on HIV-uninfected infants of infected parents since these children represent a high proportion of children in Sub-Saharan Africa and may be particularly at risk. The study will recruit 850 children to receive either an unfortified locally made complementary food or a similar food which contains an externally provided micronutrient fortificant. Children will be followed for a year and their growth, micronutrient status, immune function and psychomotor development will be evaluated.
The first infants are being recruited in October 2005 and the project will run for 4 years. The study is a collaboration between two departments at the LSHTM, ITD (Shabbar Jaffar, Ursula Gompels) and EPH (Suzanne Filteau) and investigators at University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, the Lusaka District Health Management Team, the Institute of Child Health, London, and the University of Otago, New Zealand. The study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
