Abstract
The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness and impact on treatment coverage of integrating severe acute malnutrition (SAM) treatment at the health hut level by community health workers (CHWs). This study was a non-randomized controlled trial, including two rural communes in the health district of Mayahi: Maïreyreye (control) and Guidan Amoumoune (intervention). The control group received outpatient treatment for uncomplicated SAM from health facilities (HFs), while the intervention group received outpatient treatment for uncomplicated SAM from HFs or CHWs. A total of 2789 children aged 6–59 months with SAM without medical complications were included in the study. The proportion of cured children was 72.1% in the control group, and 77.2% in the intervention group. Treatment coverage decreased by 8.3% in the control area, while the group of CHWs was able to mitigate that drop and even increase coverage by 3%. This decentralized treatment model of acute malnutrition with CHWs allowed an increase in treatment coverage while maintaining a good quality of care. It also allowed the early inclusion of children in less severe conditions. These results may enhance the Niger Ministry of Health to review the management of SAM protocol and allow CHWs to treat acute malnutrition.
Highlights
Located in West Africa’s heart, Niger is a landlocked Sahelian country whose desert covers more than two-thirds of its surface, making it one of the largest countries in WestAfrica with an area of 1,267,000 km2
The aim of the present study developed by Action Against Hunger was to assess the effectiveness and impact on treatment coverage of integrating severe acute malnutrition (SAM)
The results show that the recovery time was significantly lower in the intervention group (49 vs. 36 days), and on average the children treated by community health workers (CHWs) in the intervention group recovered seven days earlier than those treated at health facilities
Summary
Located in West Africa’s heart, Niger is a landlocked Sahelian country whose desert covers more than two-thirds of its surface, making it one of the largest countries in West. Africa with an area of 1,267,000 km. The intercensal growth rate increased from 3.3%. Acute malnutrition is still an urgent public health problem worldwide. In 2019, emaciation continued to threaten the lives of approximately 47 million children, including. 6.9% of the world’s children under five years of age. More than two-thirds of all emaciated children under five years of age lived in Asia (69%), and more than a quarter lived in Africa (27%) [2]. Malnutrition in all its forms is an underlying cause of 3.1 million deaths among children under five years of age (45% of total deaths) and is responsible for
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