Books and guides Malnutrition Taskforce

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Books and guides

Find below a list of books and guides on the management of acute malnutrition.

If you know of other books and guides that are not listed here, please email us the details.

Inpatient management of severe malnutrition

Caring for severely malnourished children, by Ashworth & Burgess (2003)

82 page book based on WHO guidelines, written for nurses and other health professional working in resource-poor settings. Sets out the 10 steps of routine care and briefly explains the rationale for each one and explains how to involve mothers in care. Updated 2008 to include community-based management and antibiotics in HIV. Available in English from TALC

Guidelines for the inpatient treatment of severely malnourished children, by Ashworth, Khanum, Jackson & Schofield, WHO, 2003

48 page book that contains practical 10-step treatment guidelines. Available from WHO

Management of severe malnutrition: a manual for physicians and other senior health workers, by WHO 1999

60 page manual of internationally agreed guidelines on the inpatient management of SAM in young children (and briefly in adults and adolescents) for health staff working at central and district levels. Available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese from WHO

Management of the child with a serious infection or severe malnutrition, by WHO-IMCI (2000)

Guidelines for senior health staff responsible for the care of young children at the first referral level in developing countries, which contains a 20 page chapter on severe malnutrition. Available in English, French and Russian from WHO-IMCI and TALC

The pocketbook of hospital care for children: Guidelines for the management of common illnesses with limited resources, by WHO (2005)

Pocket book for use by doctors, senior nurses and other senior health workers who are responsible for the care of young children at the first referral level in developing countries. Available in English from WHO

Serious childhood problems in countries with limited resources

The background book "Serious childhood problems in countries with limited resources" presents a summary of the technical background and the evidence-base underlying the clinical guidelines given in the manual for the management of children with severe infections or acute malnutrition. Full details can be downloaded from WHO

Community-based therapeutic care (CTC)

Community-based therapeutic care (CTC), by Emergency Nutrition Network (2004)

A collection of articles that provide a wide range of perspectives from people who have been involved in CTC over several years. Articles present the impact and effectiveness and lessons learned. Available from ENN or FANTA

Community-based therapeutic care field manual, by Valid International and Concern Worldwide (2006)

A 247 page manual for programme managers, practitioners and technical specialists implementing community-based therapeutic care programmes to address severe acute malnutrition. Available in English from Valid International or FANTA

Training guide for Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition

The training guide is designed for health care managers and health care providers who manage, supervise and implement CMAM. This includes health care providers who are involved in health outreach activities, as well as MOH officials at the national, regional and district levels, health and nutrition program managers of NGOs and United Nations technical staff.

Click on this link to access this tool.

Emergency Nutrition

Emergency Nutrition Toolkit

A Toolkit for Addressing Nutrition in Emergency Situations has been developed by Global Nutrition Cluster. This toolkit covers areas such as Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies, Management of Moderate Acute Malnutrition, Treatment of diarrhoea with ORT/Zinc, Nutrition, HIV and AIDS, and other important areas. Use the link below to access this toolkit

Module 1 Infant Feeding in Emergencies

This resource was prepared through an interagency colloboration between UNICEF, WHO,Linkages, IBFAN and ENN to prepare emergency staff to safeguard maternal and child health and is appropriate for people who support mothers and children in emergency. Click this link for full details.

Module 2 Infant Feeding in Emergencies

Module 2 comprises four parts - a core manual, additional material (including sections on artificial feeding and management of acute malnutrition in infants under six months), annexes and slides content. It aims to provide those directly involved with infants and carers with the basic knowledge and skills to support safe and appropriate infant and young child feeding. Follow the link for full details.

Make it Happen. Report of a regional workshop on IFE

ENN has posted the report of a regional workshop on IFE held in Bali, 10-13 March, 2008. The workshop was organised by ENN/IFE Core Group, in collaboration with UNICEF NY, UNICEF regional offices, UNICEF Indonesia, and MOH Indonesia. Click this link for full report

Media Guide on Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies - English

This guide outlines how the media can help protect and support appropriate and safe infant and young child feeding in emergencies. Click here for the guide.

Operational Guidance on Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies, v2.1

This document produced by ENN and endorced by many agencies, organisations and donors provides concise practical but mainly non technical guidance on how to ensure appropriate infant and young child feeding in emergencies. Full details can be downloaded here

Malnutrition Forum