New edition of 'Research for Nutrition', the meeting place for leading experts in child malnutrition
On November 6th and 7th, a new edition of the 'Research for Nutrition' (#R4NUT) conference took place in Nanterre (Paris), an event aimed at exchanging experiences that can improve the effectiveness of treatments against child malnutrition, organized by Action Against Hunger (ACF).
The relevance of events like this is even greater at a time when the growing number of crises, the demand for assistance and the increase in the number of people in need require not only more humanitarian aid, but also the incorporation of new approaches and developments aimed at achieving greater efficiency, better coverage and a greater capacity for transformation. On the other hand, the persistence of acute malnutrition and its impact on infant mortality also demand new solutions and ways of working in order to accelerate prevention, early detection and treatment efforts aimed at tackling child emaciation more effectively.
Thus, innovation and research constitute a differential value in the search for the effectiveness and simplification of our humanitarian interventions to make them more sustainable and scalable. Operational research is a continuous process of generation and evolution of our knowledge and constitutes a key element in the work of Action Against Hunger, to understand what works and what does not in our work.
Climate crises, socio-political changes and inequalities in nutritional security, up for debate.
On this occasion, #R4NUT focused on analyzing the impact of climate crises, sociopolitical changes and socioeconomic inequalities on nutritional security. Over the course of two days, the 200 or so attendees had the opportunity to listen to and share experiences of professionals from the different ACF offices, as well as from Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Vietnam. Organizations such as Concern Worldwide, Médecins du Monde, Save the Children, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the OECD, the WHO and UNICEF, and universities such as Adelaide, Tufs, Paris Cité Inserm and Kinshasa, have shared their knowledge and generated a constant dialogue with the public about their findings and experiences.
ACF Spain took part in the panel on new technologies for nutrition, with a presentation on the latest advances and developments in the SAM Photo Diagnosis App , by Laura Medialdea, the programme's principal investigator. This revolutionary way of identifying severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is in the algorithm validation and adaptation phase, with active studies in Senegal and Guatemala, and about to begin in India.
In addition, during the event other research projects were presented in which ACF Spain has participated or has provided support, such as the study on the cost analysis of severe acute malnutrition with complications in patients aged 6 to 59 months admitted to health centers in Senegal; the project for an integrated digital diagnosis AleDia (Alliance for e-diagnosis) and the prospective cohort study in several countries on risk factors for relapse among children recovered from severe acute malnutrition.
First day
The sessions on the first day focused on the impact of climate change and inequalities in malnutrition, as well as sharing results on different types of treatment for SAM and on strengthening community-based approaches.
Antonio Vargas, head of the Nutrition and Health department of ACF Spain, said of the conference that “it is very necessary to have the opportunity to share information and knowledge among those of us involved in the fight against malnutrition.” Specifically, with regard to the first day, Vargas highlights the presentation by the ACF South Sudan team of the study Effectiveness of interventions to mitigate the risk of gender-based violence in nutrition services and points out that “this study focuses on the impact that gender-based violence has on nutrition programs. One of the reflections of this work is the need to always take into account the risk to which we expose the people who participate in the programs with certain interventions. In the identification and formulation of actions/solutions of the projects, this risk must be reduced and mitigated. To do this, it is essential to design the project based on the needs and assessments of the participants, always try to bring the service closer to reduce movements and have a team dedicated to explaining the actions in the community and raising awareness of the problem.
On this first day, Amador Gómez, Director of Research and Innovation at ACF Spain, highlights the presentation Community Recommendations in LINK-NCA Reports, methodology on the causal analysis of malnutrition, by ACF France, which explained how the scaling up of the Link-NCA methodology is resulting in a dynamic database to delve deeper into the causes of malnutrition in different contexts and the mechanisms that lead to the different types of child malnutrition (acute, chronic, anemia...).
Also from this first day, Gómez highlights the conclusions of the presentation Cost analysis of the hospital treatment of SAM with complications in northern Senegal. In Gómez's words, “the high cost of treating cases of acute malnutrition with complications requires further progress in three directions: 1) Simplification of treatment protocols to make them shorter, simpler and more effective; 2) Importance of early diagnosis at the community level and of providing new tools for simple, fast and reliable diagnosis; and 3) Need to strengthen interventions at the community level, with door-to-door treatment approaches to ensure access to treatment for acute malnutrition as soon as it is identified.”
Second day
On the second and final day, the panels focused on the management and prevention of malnutrition through local food resources, multisectoral strategies to tackle malnutrition, and the risk of metabolic and non-communicable diseases associated with child malnutrition, among other issues.
Pilar Charle-Cuéllar, coordinator of the iCCM+ Project of ACF Spain, highlights the presentation by Alison Daniel of the WHO on the WHO Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Malnutrition. Charle-Cuéllar comments: “Regarding this presentation, I would like to share a few points: 1) Action Against Hunger has contributed with its work and research to a new recommendation that includes the treatment of acute malnutrition with community health workers; 2) the platform was presented, showing how from now on the revision of the guide will be a living and active process to which new evidence can be continuously contributed; 3) it is necessary to take action, and for the different humanitarian organizations, in collaboration with the Ministries of Health, to implement and adapt the different recommendations to each context.
All the information on the presentations and posters shared can be found at ACF | Research for nutrition conference
