Conference for community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM)
Concern Worldwide, in partnership with Irish Aid, is hosting a conference for community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) practitioners on the 22nd to 25th March 2021, entitled ‘CMAM 20 Years On: Going to Scale in Fragile Contexts’. The conference marks the 20th anniversary of the first CMAM pilot which signalled a huge leap forward in the detection and treatment of child wasting and nutritional oedema and for child survival.
Two decades on, the fundamentals of the original model – community mobilisation, use of a ready-to-use-therapeutic food and simple assessment and treatment protocols – remain very much intact and central to its effectiveness. At the same time, practitioners and policy makers have been continuously adapting the approach to local contexts, health systems and community structures in an effort to reach the millions of children in need of treatment services. Some of these adaptations have been consolidated as best practice while others have not been well documented or evaluated. In the context of COVID-19, many adaptations are being fast-tracked to support continued nutrition treatment during the pandemic. Consensus is lacking on which adaptations should be taken forward and in which contexts they may be most effective.
Meanwhile, a number of structural and resource-related barriers to scale up persist, including funding, human resources, supply chains and coordination. The 2020 Global Action Plan (GAP) on Child Wasting sets out a framework to better prevent and treat child wasting to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing the proportion of children who are wasted from 7.3% to less than 5% by 2025 and less than 3% by 2030. Work is also underway to develop road maps for countries with a high burden of wasting to achieve these targets.
This conference aims to:
- Identify the key enablers and barriers to bringing effective management of wasting (and nutritional oedema) to scale
- Review evidence-based and promising adaptations to the management of wasting (and nutritional oedema)
- Identify critical gaps in the knowledge, evidence and resources needed to facilitate best and promising practice to scale
- Identify priority actions needed to better manage wasting (and nutritional oedema) at scale in light of the Global Action Plan on Child Wasting
Up to 100 practitioners and technical experts from governments, international organisations, donor agencies and research institutions will be invited as a core group of online participants. Governments and stakeholders from a selected set of high burden countries in more fragile contexts will present their experience of scaling up services for wasting (and nutritional oedema). Other topics will include experience implementing simplified approaches, strategies for supporting community health workers, planning for seasonal caseload fluctuations and the management of at-risk mothers and infants under six months, among others.
To register for the conference please go to https://www.accelevents.com/e/CMAM2021
Subscribe freely to receive Field Exchange content to your mailbox or front door.
More like this
FEX: Community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) Conference 2021
View this article as a pdf Concern Worldwide and Irish Aid hosted a virtual conference on the community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) in March 2021. The...
FEX: FEX 65 editorial themes
View this article as a pdf Dear readers, A warm welcome to the 65th edition of Field Exchange. This edition features a range of programming issues that unfortunately reflect...
FEX: The No Wasted Lives Research Agenda - Revisited
View this article as a pdf This article is a summary of the Research Agenda Revisited published by the No Wasted Lives Secretariat and the Council of Research Technical Advice...
Resource: Scale-up of severe wasting management within the health system: A stakeholder perspective on current progress
Executive summary Introduction Wasting is a critical issue for child survival and development, with therapeutic treatment of severe cases recognised as an essential...
FEX: Family MUAC: A review of evidence and practice
View this article as a pdf Summary of research1 By Emilie Buttarelli, Sophie Woodhead and Dolores Rio Dr Emilie Buttarelli is a bio-cultural anthropologist (Health Science,...
FEX: Editorial
View this article as a pdf Dear Field Exchange readers, Welcome to the 64th edition of Field Exchange. We are delighted to kick start 2021 featuring a special section on...
FEX: The ‘CMAM Surge’ approach: setting the scene
View this article as a pdf By Amanda Yourchuck and Kate Golden Amanda Yourchuck is an Emergency Nutrition Advisor for the United States Agency for International Development...
FEX: Scale-up of severe wasting management within the health system: A stakeholder perspective on current progress
View this article as a pdf Summary of report1 This summary was prepared by Brenda Akwanyi who undertook the review together with Philip James, Natascha Lelijveld and Emily...
FEX: Regional perspectives on simplified approaches for the management of children with acute malnutrition: West and Central Africa
View this article as a pdf Lisez cet article en français ici By Sophie Woodhead, Dolores Rio and Noel Zagre Sophie Woodhead is a Nutrition Specialist with UNICEF in...
FEX: Simplified approaches for the treatment of child wasting: A rapid evidence review
View this article as a pdf Report summary1 By Emilie Buttarelli, Grace Funnell and Sophie Woodhead Dr Emilie Buttarelli is a bio-cultural anthropologist currently working...
FEX: A consultation of operational agencies and academic specialists on MUAC and WHZ as indicators of SAM
Summary of meeting report1 The treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a costeffective, evidence-based ‘direct’ nutrition intervention, according to the 2008 Lancet...
FEX: South Asia and child wasting – unravelling the conundrum
View this article as a pdf Lisez cet article en français ici By Harriet Torlesse and Minh Tram Le Background Each annual release of the Joint Malnutrition Estimates...
FEX: CMAM Surge: lessons learned on the journey so far
View this article as a pdf By Erin McCloskey, Amanda Yourchuck and Peter Hailey Erin McCloskey is a Public Health Nutritionist and independent consultant currently working...
FEX: OptiMA study in Burkina Faso: Emerging findings and additional insights
View this article as a pdf Lisez cet article en français ici By Kevin PQ Phelan Kevin PQ Phelan is Nutrition Advisor at ALIMA, the Alliance for International Medical...
FEX: Action Against Hunger Research for Nutrition conference, 2017
By Miriam Ait-Aissa and Stephanie Stern Myriam Ait-Aissa is currently Head of Research and Analyses at Action Against Hunger - France (Action contre la Faim). She has been...
FEX: Editorial
View this article as a pdf Lisez cet article en français ici A warm welcome to our 63rd edition of Field Exchange, focused on child wasting in South Asia. The idea for...
Blog post: The last must become the first: key insights from the second Institutionalizing Community Health Conference.
Community health programmes are neither cheap nor easy to implement well, but they remain a good and wise investment that can yield important dividends. The latest evidence...
FEX: Effectiveness of public health systems to support national rollout strategies in Ghana
By Michael A. Neequaye and Wilhelmina Okwabi Wilhelmina Okwabi is Deputy Director of Nutrition of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), a position she has held for 2 years. Her...
FEX: Integration of the management of severe acute malnutrition in health systems: ACF Guidance
By Rebecca Brown and Anne-Dominique Israel Rebecca Brown is Strategic Technical Adviser with ACF Paris Anne-Dominique is Senior Nutrition Adviser with ACF Paris The...
FEX: Editorial
View this article as a pdf In this issue of Field Exchange we are delighted to feature, for the second year running, a special section that shares key outputs of Action...
Reference this page
Conference for community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM). Field Exchange 64, January 2021. p17. www.ennonline.net/fex/64/cmamconference2021
(ENN_6957)