Community-based management of severe acute malnutrition
A Joint Statement
Update 2011
The Joint Statement has been updated to reflect the revised MUAC cut-off of 115 mm on pages 2 and 3. The maximum aflatoxin level has been revised to 10 parts per billion on page 6.
Overview
Severe acute malnutrition remains a major killer of children under five years of age. Until recently, treatment has been restricted to facility-based approaches, greatly limiting its coverage and impact. New evidence suggests, however, that large numbers of children with severe acute malnutrition can be treated in their communities without being admitted to a health facility or a therapeutic feeding centre.
The community-based approach involves timely detection of severe acute malnutrition in the community and provision of treatment for those without medical complications with ready-to-use therapeutic foods or other nutrient-dense foods at home. If properly combined with a facility-based approach for those malnourished children with medical complications or below 6 months and implemented on a large scale, community-based management of severe acute malnutrition could prevent the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children.
The proposed nutrient compositions are to be used as a guide for target nutrient intakes from specific foods for specific populations, rather than limits for manufacturing specifications.