GLOBAL CHILD HEALTH
Treating severe acute malnutrition seriously
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Steve Collins
Centre for International Health and Development and Valid International Ltd, Unit 14 Standingford House, 26 Cave Street, Oxford OX4 1BA, UK; steve{at}validinternational.org
Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) affects approximately 13 million children under the age of 5 and is associated with 1–2 million preventable child deaths each year. In most developing countries, case fatality rates (CFRs) in hospitals treating SAM remain at 20–30% and few of those requiring care actually access treatment. Recently, community-based therapeutic care (CTC) programmes treating most cases of SAM solely as outpatients have dramatically reduced CFRs and increased the numbers receiving care. CTC uses ready-to-use therapeutic foods and aims to increase access to services, promoting early presentation and compliance, thereby increasing coverage and recovery rates. Initial data indicate that this combination of centre-based and community-based care is cost effective and should be integrated into mainstream child survival programmes.
Abbreviations: CFR, case fatality rate; CTC, community-based therapeutic care; IMCI, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness strategy; MoH, Ministry of Health; MUAC, middle upper arm circumference; NGO, non-governmental organisation; NRU, nutrition rehabilitation unit; OTP, outpatient treatment programme; RUTF, ready-to-use therapeutic food; SAM, severe acute malnutrition; SC, stabilisation centre; SFP, supplementary feeding programme; WFH, weight-for-height
Keywords: acute malnutrition; CTC; SAM
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Arch. Dis. Child. 2007 92: e5.
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