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BEP TAG

The Balanced Energy-Protein supplementation Technical Advisory Group (BEP-TAG) is an interdisciplinary group of experts in nutrition, maternal health, and public health.  

Hosted by the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Consortium (HMHB), the BEP-TAG aims to review and synthesize evidence, address knowledge gaps, drive innovative research on Balanced Energy-Protein (BEP), and provide high-fidelity guidance to governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), foundations, multilateral organizations, and the private sector.  

The BEP-TAG’s mission is to generate evidence and guidance to champion the adoption of BEP as an evidence-based intervention or standard of care in antenatal care programs to improve maternal nutrition and birth outcomes. 

 

History

The BEP-TAG was created to address malnutrition among pregnant women and its consequences for their babies. BEP has shown promising potential to mitigate the risks of low birth weight, small for gestational age babies, and stillbirths.  

BEP is delivered in many forms, such as fortified beverages, biscuits, and powders. The lack of a universally accepted BEP formulation inspired the creation of a dedicated TAG. This collaborative effort seeks to find scientific evidence to support the use of BEP to treat undernourished pregnant women, recommended by antenatal care (ANC) healthcare professionals, particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).  

Activities

The BEP-TAG works in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) BEP Expert group to review existing scientific evidence and drive consensus to address the following:   

  • Nutritional composition of BEP (e.g., review or revise the expert consensus on BEP nutrient composition and product considerations).   
  • Targeting approaches for BEP (e.g., layout pros and cons of individual vs. blanket or group targeting, combined with other supplements).  
  • Delivery models for BEP (e.g., develop guidance on product storage, frontline workers, delivery cost, etc., to platforms providing routine antenatal care). It is important to ensure that the chosen delivery model is efficient, cost-effective, and aligned with the preferences and constraints of the target population. 
  • Other opportunities for BEP to reduce the triple burden of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases.  

 

 

As a part of the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Consortium, the BEP-TAG’s activities will include: 

  • Reviewing and synthesizing scientific evidence on BEP interventions, including their effectiveness, safety, cost, and implementation strategies.  
  • Developing evidence-based guidelines and recommendations for using BEP interventions to address malnutrition.  
  • Identifying research gaps and priorities to guide future research and innovations in the field of BEP. 
  • Collaborating with global partners, funders, stakeholders, and research institutions to promote knowledge exchange and capacity-building efforts.  
  • Advocating for the integration of BEP interventions within national nutrition policies and programs.    

 

Members

The list of members of the BEP-TAG will be posted here when the usual onboarding procedures are completed.  

Technical Advisory Groups BEP Technical Advisory Group

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