Browsing by Author "McLachlan, Milla"

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    Infant feeding practices during the first 6 months of life in a low-income area of the Western Cape Province
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 2014-05) Goosen, Charlene; McLachlan, Milla; Schubl, Claudia
    Background. Exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life protects against infant morbidity and mortality. Few studies describe the infant feeding practices of mothers living in low-income areas of the Western Cape Province of South Africa (SA). Objective. To describe the infant feeding practices of mothers of infants younger than 6 months in two low-income communities of SA. Methods. A cross-sectional community-based study using a structured questionnaire, and seven focus group discussions were conducted from February to August 2011 in Avian Park and Zwelethemba in Worcester, an urban area in the Western Cape. Results. Seventy-seven per cent of participants (n=108) had initiated breastfeeding. At the time of the study, 6% (n=8) breastfed exclusively. Ninety-four per cent (n=132) applied suboptimal breastfeeding practices: 36% (n=51) breastfed predominantly, 27% (n=38) breastfed partially and 31% (n=43) did not breastfeed. Ninety per cent (n=126) of the mothers had introduced water, of whom 83% (n=104) had done so before their infants were 1 month old. Forty-four per cent (n=61) of the mothers had introduced food or formula milk, of whom 75% (n=46) had done so before their infants were 3 months old. Qualitative findings indicated that gripe water, Lennon’s Behoedmiddel and herbal medicines were also given to infants. Nutritive liquids and/or food most commonly given as supplementary feeds were formula milk and commercial infant cereal. Conclusion. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) during the first 6 months of life was a rare practice in these low-income communities. Water, non-prescription medicines and formula milk and/or food were introduced at an early age.
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    Learning & transformative networks to address wicked problems : a GOLDEN invitation
    (International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, 2013) Waddell, Steve; McLachlan, Milla; Dentoni, Domenico
    This essay explores the role of learning networks in strengthening the transformative potential of multi-stakeholder initiatives in the agro-food sector. It begins with reflections on the learning needs of a regional multi-stakeholder initiative in the agro-food sector, the Southern Africa Food Lab (SAFL).Then, the essay introduces an emerging learning network, namely GOLDEN for Sustainability. GOLDEN is a global learning network currently developing outside the agricultural and food sector, but with the ambition of including the agro-food sector. The authors are all connected to GOLDEN, and through this article they aim to leverage the International Food and Agribusiness Management Review (IFAMR) platform as a tool for developing such networks (Dentoni et al. 2012) and to invite agro-food organizations to participate in learning networks such as GOLDEN.
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    Trace element composition of two wild vegetables in response to soil-applied micronutrients
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2014) Mavengahama, Sydney; De Clercq, Willem P.; McLachlan, Milla
    Wild vegetables are an important commodity in the subsistence farming sector. They are considered to be rich in micronutrients and can therefore be used to overcome inadequate nutrition. However, research on micronutrients in wild vegetables remains limited and sporadic. In this study, we evaluated the responses of two wild vegetables – Corchorus olitorius and Amaranthus cruentus var. Arusha – to micronutrients added to the soil in comparison with a reference crop, Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla). Swiss chard concentrated significantly (p<0.01) higher amounts of Cu, Zn and Mn in the leaves than did the wild vegetables. Variations in micronutrients among the vegetables were greater for Zn (72–363 mg/kg) and Mn (97.9–285.9 mg/kg) than for Cu (8.8–14 mg/kg). C. olitorius had the least capacity to concentrate Mn and Zn in the leaves. However, C. olitorius concentrated significantly more Fe (327 mg/kg) in the leaves than did A. cruentus (223 mg/kg) or B. vulgaris (295 mg/kg). The mean per cent S concentration in the leaves ranged from 0.26% in C. olitorius to 0.34% in A. cruentus and B. vulgaris. We conclude that the different vegetables had different abilities to concentrate Cu and Zn in the order B. vulgaris > A. cruentus > C. olitorius. These results seem to contradict the belief that wild vegetables have an inherent ability to concentrate mineral micronutrients in their tissues.
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    We can’t keep eating like this : food system change for sustainable health
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011-11) McLachlan, Milla
    Born in Cape Town, Milla McLachlan attended schools in the city, as well as in Pretoria and Johannesburg, before receiving her undergraduate education at Stellenbosch University. She completed a PhD at Michigan State University in East Lansing in the USA, and recently completed an MA at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Milla has been involved in international social development for more than 30 years, focusing on addressing food and nutrition issues though public policy and community action. As Nutrition Advisor at the World Bank in Washington, DC, she supported policy and strategy development for national nutrition programmes in several countries, including Bangladesh and Ethiopia. She coordinated a team of eminent nutrition researchers in a review of the nutrition work of the World Bank and UNICEF, which led to the publication of an edited volume, Combating Malnutrition: Time to Act. This work contributed to the development of a renewed focus on nutrition in World Bank programmes. Since her return to South Africa in 2006, Milla has consulted widely in Africa, building capacity for community-based action on nutrition and facilitating leadership- and partnership-building activities. With a particular interest in social change as it relates to food systems, Milla now enjoys navigating the interface between research, policy and practice through her leadership and involvement in the SU Food Security Initiative (FSI), the Community Nutrition Security Project of the SU Division of Human Nutrition, and the Southern African Food Lab, a multi-stakeholder initiative using social innovation to shift the food system towards greater sustainability.