MALAWI NUTRITION SITUATION UPDATE issue # 24 JULY 2018

Highlights

In June 2018 reporting was at 100 percent. All the 618 Outpa-tient Therapeutic Program (OTP) centres, 104 Nutrition Rehabili-tation Units (NRU) and 611 Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) centres in Community-based Management of Acute Mal-nutrition (CMAM) reported as follows:

* 3,539 children aged 6 to 59 months with Severe Acute Mal-nutrition (SAM) received lifesaving treatment in OTP centres and NRUs.

* 3,909 children aged 6 to 59 months with Moderate Acute Mal-nutrition (MAM) treated in the SFP centres.

* 1,483 Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) with MAM re-ceived supplementary food at the SFP centres.

* 23% increase in SAM admissions in June 2018 compared to June 2017.

* 30% decrease in MAM admissions in June 2018 compared to June 2017.

* The SAM death rate in the month of June 2018 was 2.1%, with-in SPHERE standards.

SAM children admitted in OTPs and NRUs in June 2018

3,539

MAM children admitted in SFPs in June 2018

3,909 1,483

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW

2,878 SAM children admitted in OTPs

and NRUs in June 2017

PLW admitted in SFPs in

June 2018

2,560 5,607 MAM children admitted in SFPs

in June 2017 PLW admitted in SFPs in

June 2017

23% 30 % 42 %

Overall 23 % increase in SAM admissions in June 2018 compared to June 2017

Overall 30% decrease in MAM admissions in June 2018 compared to

June 2017

The SAM cure rate in June 2018 is 93.8% and MAM cure rate 78.2%;

MAM cure rate reduced while the defaulter rate increased to 19.1%

SAM cure rates: 93.8%

MAM cure rates: 78.2%

SAM defaulter rates: 2.4%

MAM defaulter rates:19.1%

SAM death rates: 2.1%

MAM death rates: 0.3%

The SAM death rate in June 2018 was 2.1% which is within SPHERE

minimum standards (<10%)

SAVED FROM MALNUTRITION; BERTHA’S STORY

By Ida Munthali, Nutrition Field Monitor- UNICEF Malawi

A 5-month-old baby girl turned up at Thekerani Health cen-tre in Thyolo, southern Malawi. Her mother had stopped

breastfeeding her a month before, because of the discom-fort and pain of her breast sores. Instead she fed her

daughter with water and sugar. The impact on her daugh-ter, Bertha Smart, was something she had not anticipated. At the time, she brought baby Bertha to the hospital, from her home Ndongowani Village, some 17kms away, the little

one had lost so much weight and her feet were swollen. After nutrition and medical assessments baby Bertha was diag-nosed with severe acute malnutrition (marasmic kwashiorkor) with compli-cations. Bertha was very weak, lethargic; even her crying was that of an ex-

tremely weak child.

Bertha was referred to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit at Thyolo district hospital, 64kms away from Thekerani health centre, UNICEF provided transport to facilitate the referral.

At Thyolo NRU, nutrition, medical and laboratory investiga-tions reconfirmed the severe acute malnutrition and scale of medical complications. She was immediately given anti-biotics and therapeutic milk - F75 to stabilize her condition. She had well responded to treatment and a week later oe-dema was receded; vital signs improved, she started gain-ing weight.

After the stabilization phase Bertha was transferred to Thekerani NRU to continue treatment F100. She stayed at Thekerani NRU for a month and then was discharged to the Out Patient Therapeutic program (OTP). In the OTP she received Ready to Use Therapeutic food (RUTF) for 6 weeks. She progressed to the 8 week Supplementary Feeding (SFP).

Thanks to the Community based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) program, Bertha and thousands other vulnerable children in Malawi have been saved.

Bertha after 18 weeks in CMAM ©UNICEF/Ida Munthali 2018

Bertha at NRU ©UNICEF/Ida Munthali 2018

Bertha’s rapid transformation from severely wasted child to a healthy baby ©UNICEF/Ida Munthali 2018