Impact of a simplified treatment protocol for moderate acute malnutrition in Niger

Of the children under five affected by acute malnutrition in the world, the majority are affected by moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). Its treatment is particularly complex in emergency settings such as the Diffa region in Niger. This non-randomised controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and coverage of a simplified treatment protocol with Community Health Workers (CHWs) as treatment providers.

The outcomes using the simplified protocol exceeded humanitarian requirements. It demonstrated improvements compared to the standard protocol showing that the simplified protocol could be safely provided by CHWs in an emergency context. Further research in other contexts is needed to scale up this intervention.