Final Report: Understanding uncomplicated severely acutely malnourished infants <6m through systematic screening and community-based management

Routine screening for acute malnutrition is traditionally reserved for children aged 6-59 months and does not include infants under 6 months of age. They are often excluded from nutrition surveys and programmes because it is assumed that these children are exclusively breastfed and are therefore rarely malnourished.

In nutritional recovery units (URENI) in Kayes, 3% of children are infants under 6 months and 39% are between 6 and 9 months old. These statistics reflect a lack of early diagnosis in children under 6 months. The lack of evidence regarding the management of acute malnutrition in infants under 6 months of age led to the design of this research based on current WHO guidance as represented in the CMAMI tool.

The project contributed to the management of 54 mother-infant pairs at community level, through the strengthening of the capacity of health personnel on the C-MAMI tool. This community support has facilitated access to local healthcare and reduced indirect costs (transportation, meals during the stay, loss of time etc.) related to treatment at hospital level.

The final project report provides information on the methodology, activities, outputs, impact and dissemination of learning.