Testing an adapted severe acute malnutrition treatment protocol in Somalia
A cohort study to test an adapted protocol for treating severe acute malnutrition in the outpatient programme of Karaan Clinic, Mogadishu
Abstract
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) conducted a prospective cohort study to test an adapted protocol for treating severe acute malnutrition (SAM) as outpatients in the outpatient therapeutic programme (OTP) of Karaan Clinic, Mogadishu, Benadir district, Somalia, with the aim of improving continuity of care for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) children. The adapted protocol treated SAM children until full recovery with a simplified dosage protocol. Treatment was based on the provision of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for children in both severe and moderate malnutrition ‘zones’, with children in the severe zone receiving weekly treatment at two RUTF sachets per day and, once in the moderate zone, two-weekly treatment at one RUTF sachet per day, based on MUAC or WHZ benchmarks (both mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) were used as admission criteria). There was no control group.
Headline findings and some implementation experiences are shared in this article; full results will be submitted for peer review publication in 2019.
This work was supported by the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) Programme
Citation
Naoko Kozuki, Jama Mohamud Ahmed, Mukhtar Sirat and Muna Abdirizak Jama (2019). Testing an adapted severe acute malnutrition treatment protocol in Somalia. Field Exchange issue 60, July 2019. p36. www.ennonline.net/fex/60/treatmentprotocolsomalia
Link
Testing an adapted severe acute malnutrition treatment protocol in Somalia