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Treating Severe Acute Malnutrition in Chakradharpur block of Jharkhand

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a medical condition that weakens the immune system and reduces the ability to fight infections. That is why severely malnourished children have a much higher chance of dying from common childhood illnesses such as respiratory infections or diarrhea. India has the largest burden of severe malnutrition in the world, with over 9.3 million children under the age of five affected by SAM.
From 2009-2015, MSF treated over 17,000 children in Bihar’s Darbhanga district with the community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) model. Based on the learnings from the Darbhanga project, in June 2017, MSF launched a programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and State Nutrition Mission in Jharkhand’s Chakradharpur block to identify and treat children with SAM using the CMAM model. CMAM is composed of different components including community engagement strategies on preventive measures, correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment, in-patient treatment of severely malnourished children with medical complications, and out-patient treatment of severely malnourished children without complications.

MSFSTO22671

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