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This discussion topic is based on a recent publication in Disasters vol. 33.
After the Niger food crisis of 2004-2005, programs for community-based treatment of acute malnutrition found that the prevalence of acute malnutrition, although reduced from the level during the crisis, remained unacceptably high.
"India has asked UNICEF to stop distributing millions of dollars worth of nutrition aid to children, saying it had been done without permission and at the expense of local food to fight hunger," Reuters reports. Since August 2008, UNICEF has invested about $2.4 million importing "a high energy relief treatment known as 'Ready to Use Therapeutic Food' (RUTF)" for children with severe acute malnutrition in the states of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, according to the news service (Williams, 8/4).
This study by Lapidus and colleagues showed that among children being treated for malnutrition in Niger, Weight-for-Height indicators calculated using WHO standards were more accurate for predicting mortality risk than those calculated using the NCHS reference.
Dear Colleagues
This topic has come up for discussions following a recent article published by Dr Prasad and colleagues against “The current thinking – that a centrally produced and processed Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) should supplant the locally prepared indigenous foods in treatment of SAM in India". This according to the authors would ignore the multiple causes of malnutrition and destroy the diversity of potential solutions based on locally available foods.
Dear colleagues
We are still discussing the impact of the new WHO growth standards on management of malnutrition. This was the question we received
Dear Colleague
There have been some interesting discussions following the report of the IMTF study carried out at the 3rd ANEC conference in Cairo last October. Some important questions have been asked from the contributions and comments over the past weeks. We are therefore starting new discussions to specifically address these questions.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for completing the International Malnutrition Task Force (IMTF) survey during the third ANEC at Cairo, Egypt, 2008.
This discussion is about the impact of the new WHO growth standards on the management of acute malnutrition worldwide.