Evidence Aid Newsletter: 30 April 2024
Welcome to Evidence Aid’s April newsletter which you can also subscribe to on LinkedIn here.
In Gaza, the number of children under the age of five who are acutely malnourished is proceeding at a record rate. In Yemen, an estimated 2.7 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, with hundreds of thousands of children facing severe acute malnutrition. Finally, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, over 1.1 million children aged 6 to 59 months are facing elevated levels of acute malnutrition.
Though the term ‘malnutrition’ has no universally accepted definition, it is used to describe a deficiency, excess or imbalance of a wide range of nutrients, and is likely to result in a measurable adverse effect on the body’s composition, function and clinical outcome. Associations between malnutrition and environmental conditions, conflict, and vulnerability are endless. As such, this newsletter focusses on a variety of interventions, impacts, and interconnections related to malnutrition.
Selection of Evidence Aid summaries related to malnutrition
Interventions to improve birth outcomes of pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries
Citation: Park JJH, et al. Interventions to improve birth outcomes of pregnant women living in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Gates Open Research. 2020;3:1657.
Improving the health of particularly vulnerable populations, including pregnant and lactating women (PLW) is imperative in the prevention of adverse birth outcomes for newborns and children including preterm birth and low birthweight. The authors of this systematic review and network meta-analysis found that micronutrient supplements, including calcium, and 1500kcal/day of local food reduced the risk of preterm birth as well as the supplementation of folic acid, iron, and zinc. Conversely, the authors found that balanced energy food supplements, deworming, and maternal education showed no improvements in the reduction in risk of preterm birth and mean birthweight.
Citation: Park JJH, et al. Interventions to improve linear growth during exclusive breastfeeding life-stage for children aged 0-6 months living in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review with network and pairwise meta-analyses. Gates Open Research. 2020;3:1720.
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), which is when the infant receives only breastmilk and no other liquids or solids (including water), is crucial for a child’s linear growth in their first six months of life. The authors of this systematic review and network meta-analysis examined interventions related to micronutrient supplements, food supplements, deworming, maternal and breastfeeding education and promotion, and WASH care for infants aged 0-6 months. They found that deworming and WASH interventions resulted in no improvements in length-for-age z-score and stunting.
The impact of droughts, flooding, and climate variability on malnutrition
Citation: Lieber M, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the impact of droughts, flooding, and climate variability on malnutrition. Global Public Health. 2022;17(1):68–82.
Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict that malnutrition will be the greatest contributor to climate change related morbidity and mortality. As such, the authors of this systematic review and meta-analysis examined the relationship between proxy factors for climate change (drought, flooding, and climate variability) and malnutrition, revealing a strong positive relationship between drought, flooding, and climate variability with at least one clinical metric of malnutrition. The implications included adopting strategies for sustainable agriculture and education for women and girls to reduce the adverse influence.
Additional Information
Upcoming webinar: Evidence Aid will be hosting a webinar on 28 May at 14.30 BST titled ‘Empowering decision-making in crises: Leveraging evidence for humanitarian, disaster, and health emergencies’. We’ll be sending a separate communication detailing how to register for this event – but for now, save the date!
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