Overview

• The malnutrition-infection cycle and its impact on child mortality

• Review of nutrition indices including moderate to severe stunting, underweight and wasting

• Benchmarks and thresholds of a malnutrition crisis

• Prevention, detection, and treatment of acute malnutrition

Facilitation Notes

Part 1 of the 2-part Infant and Child Nutrition Module, the Acute Malnutrition session is composed of a PowerPoint Presentation with possible hands-on tools, if available.  Specific attention should be paid to basic terms and calculations (GAM, SAM, MUAC, etc.), using tools for MUAC (strips and height boards) in hands-on exercise, if possible. 

See the Acute Malnutrition Summary Sheet for more information.

1 hour

Allow 45 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for question/answer.

Exercises and Group Work

Acute Malnutrition Case Study

Using the information provided in the Case Study, work with participants to answer the four questions at the end of the presentation.

Visual Aids and Demonstrations

1. Acute Malnutrition PowerPoint Presentation

2. One Case Study handout per participant

2. MUAC measurement tools (strips and height boards), if available

Resources

The meaning and measurement of acute malnutrition in emergencies: A primer for decision-makers. S. Young and H. Jaspars HPN 56, November 2006

Emergency Nutrition Assessment:Guidelines for fieldworkers, SCUK 2004

CTC Field Manual. Valid International, 2006

Additional Resources