Abstract
Background. Stunting, acute malnutrition, and micronutrient malnutrition are persistent public health problems in refugee populations worldwide. In recent years there has been an increase in the availability and use of special nutritional products in emergency and development contexts to help address inadequate nutrient intakes from low-diversity diets. The availability of new special nutritional products, and the decision by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to use blanket supplementary feeding programs to prevent stunting and anemia, raised new challenges for designing, monitoring, and evaluating nutritional programs. Objective. To develop an Operational Guidance on the use of special nutritional products for the prevention of micronutrient malnutrition, stunting, and acute malnutrition in refugee populations. Methods. A literature review and a series of consultations with technical experts, operational organizations, and field staff were performed over a period of 2 years. The Operational Guidance was finalized and released in December 2011. Results. The Operational Guidance describes six stages for defining nutritional problems and identifying possible solutions; assessing and managing risks; testing acceptabilityand adherence, program design and implementation; and monitoring and evaluation. Key performance indicators are defined and a working nomenclature for new special nutritional products is described. Conclusions. The UNHCR Operational Guidance has filled an important gap in helping field staff deal with the opportunities and challenges of preventing undernutrition through the use of new products in blanket supplementary feeding programs. The need for further integration of guidance on selective feeding programs is discussed.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 420-428 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Food and Nutrition Bulletin |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - Dec 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Anemia
- Lipid-based nutrient supplement
- Malnutrition
- Micronutrient deficiencies
- Prevention
- Refugees
- Stunting
- Wasting
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Nutrition and Dietetics
- Food Science
Cite this
Operational Guidance on the use of special nutritional products in refugee populations. / Style, Sarah; Tondeur, Melody; Wilkinson, Caroline; Oman, Allison; Spiegel, Paul; Kassim, Ismail A R; Grijalva-Eternod, Carlos; Dolan, Carmel; Seal, Andrew.
In: Food and Nutrition Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 4, 12.2013, p. 420-428.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Operational Guidance on the use of special nutritional products in refugee populations
AU - Style, Sarah
AU - Tondeur, Melody
AU - Wilkinson, Caroline
AU - Oman, Allison
AU - Spiegel, Paul
AU - Kassim, Ismail A R
AU - Grijalva-Eternod, Carlos
AU - Dolan, Carmel
AU - Seal, Andrew
PY - 2013/12
Y1 - 2013/12
N2 - Background. Stunting, acute malnutrition, and micronutrient malnutrition are persistent public health problems in refugee populations worldwide. In recent years there has been an increase in the availability and use of special nutritional products in emergency and development contexts to help address inadequate nutrient intakes from low-diversity diets. The availability of new special nutritional products, and the decision by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to use blanket supplementary feeding programs to prevent stunting and anemia, raised new challenges for designing, monitoring, and evaluating nutritional programs. Objective. To develop an Operational Guidance on the use of special nutritional products for the prevention of micronutrient malnutrition, stunting, and acute malnutrition in refugee populations. Methods. A literature review and a series of consultations with technical experts, operational organizations, and field staff were performed over a period of 2 years. The Operational Guidance was finalized and released in December 2011. Results. The Operational Guidance describes six stages for defining nutritional problems and identifying possible solutions; assessing and managing risks; testing acceptabilityand adherence, program design and implementation; and monitoring and evaluation. Key performance indicators are defined and a working nomenclature for new special nutritional products is described. Conclusions. The UNHCR Operational Guidance has filled an important gap in helping field staff deal with the opportunities and challenges of preventing undernutrition through the use of new products in blanket supplementary feeding programs. The need for further integration of guidance on selective feeding programs is discussed.
AB - Background. Stunting, acute malnutrition, and micronutrient malnutrition are persistent public health problems in refugee populations worldwide. In recent years there has been an increase in the availability and use of special nutritional products in emergency and development contexts to help address inadequate nutrient intakes from low-diversity diets. The availability of new special nutritional products, and the decision by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to use blanket supplementary feeding programs to prevent stunting and anemia, raised new challenges for designing, monitoring, and evaluating nutritional programs. Objective. To develop an Operational Guidance on the use of special nutritional products for the prevention of micronutrient malnutrition, stunting, and acute malnutrition in refugee populations. Methods. A literature review and a series of consultations with technical experts, operational organizations, and field staff were performed over a period of 2 years. The Operational Guidance was finalized and released in December 2011. Results. The Operational Guidance describes six stages for defining nutritional problems and identifying possible solutions; assessing and managing risks; testing acceptabilityand adherence, program design and implementation; and monitoring and evaluation. Key performance indicators are defined and a working nomenclature for new special nutritional products is described. Conclusions. The UNHCR Operational Guidance has filled an important gap in helping field staff deal with the opportunities and challenges of preventing undernutrition through the use of new products in blanket supplementary feeding programs. The need for further integration of guidance on selective feeding programs is discussed.
KW - Anemia
KW - Lipid-based nutrient supplement
KW - Malnutrition
KW - Micronutrient deficiencies
KW - Prevention
KW - Refugees
KW - Stunting
KW - Wasting
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84892727849&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84892727849&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 24605692
AN - SCOPUS:84892727849
VL - 34
SP - 420
EP - 428
JO - Food and Nutrition Bulletin
JF - Food and Nutrition Bulletin
SN - 0379-5721
IS - 4
ER -