Complementary feeding counseling to the mother-child pairs, in the intervention clusters, will be given by trained women development army (WDA) team leaders. The intervention process will have two components; training of WDA leaders, and counseling of mothers. Counselors' training will be given centrally by the principal investigator. During counseling, WDA leaders will use a counseling guide, which is prepared in Amharic, the local and the national language. The counseling guide contains seven key messages; complementary feeding: at 6 months, from 6-8 months, from 9-11 months, from 12-23 months, hygiene, breast feeding a sick child greater than 6 months, and signs that require mothers' special care of their children. Starting the children's 6 months of age, participants in the intervention group will receive in group counseling at convenient places, and individual counseling at each mother-child pair's home every month for 9 consecutive months (a total of 9 months follow up).

Participants in the control clusters will receive the routine complementary feeding counseling, which is offered by heath extension workers and other health professionals.

Complementary Feeding Counseling to Improve Appropriate Complementary Feeding Practices and Reduce Child Undernutrition

Questions related to complementary feeding practices will be used to measure these practices of mothers for their children (Appropriate/Inappropriate). To measure appropriate complementary feeding practices, we will follow the World Health Organization recommendations for infant and young child feeding practices, continuation of breastfeeding, starting solid, semi-solid or soft foods at 6 months of age, the eight indicators used to calculate the dietary diversity, and the meal frequency will be asked. Minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, and consumption of egg and/or flesh food will be determined. Appropriate complementary feeding practice is defined if the four indicators: timely introduction of complementary foods, minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, and consumption of egg and/or flesh food are fulfilled. Otherwise, inappropriate if a child's feeding practices do not fulfill even one of the components of appropriate complementary feeding practices.

The child nutritional status (Undernutrition / No Undernutrition) will be determined by measuring the length, weight, and calculating the child's age. Length will be measured using a calibrated length board to the nearest 1mm (0.1cm). Weight will be measured using mechanical hanging scale with weighing pants to the nearest 10g at the time of enrollment and 100g at end-line measurements. Before weighing the child, the weighing scale will be hung securely and set to zero. The child's age will be calculated by subtracting the child's date of birth from the date of baseline data collection. Undernutrition will be defined if a child is considered wasted, or underweight, or stunted. The child is wasted: when the weight-for-length-Z score (WLZ) is <-2 standard deviations; underweight: when weight-for-age Z score (WAZ) is <-2 standard deviations, and stunted: when length-for-age Z score (LAZ) is <-2 standard deviations.