Médecin
Normal user
10 Mar 2021, 09:41
I would like to know the new WHO and Unicef classification standards on the severity of malnutrition. Is it now recommended to use these for making decisions?
Founder - SingwithFred!
Normal user
10 Mar 2021, 11:05
Refer you to the joint publication of WHO/UNICEF
WHO Child Growth Standards and the Identification of Severe Acute Malnutrition in Infants and Children Joint Statement WHO/UNICEF, 2009.
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/44129/9789241598163_eng.pdf
Weight/height <-3 SD reference or MUAC <115 mm or Bilateral pitting oedema. This was for children aged 6-60 months; no estimates given for Children aged 0-5 months in this publication.
Welcome others to add to this.
LSHTM
Normal user
9 May 2021, 12:22
Dear colleague,
For sure you should be using WHO 2006 child growth standards in your programmes / decision making. See here for lots of information on these https://www.who.int/tools/child-growth-standards
See also however this piece "Severe malnutrition’: thinking deeply, communicating simply" https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/11/e003023 for a discussion and relfection on interpreting anthropometry and the pros/cons of current case definitions.
Good luck!