Mitigating Malnutrition

At the recent Global Health Conference at Stanford, Sarah McCuskee, Michele Barry et al. contributed an introduction of their 2014 study on malnutrition in Madagascar. They analyzed childhood stunting in eastern Madagascar’s Ifanadiana, where they discovered a prevalence of 52.6% in children 6-59 months old, and began to assess its predictors. Their initial interpretation is that “growth impairment may have intergenerational or household-level” causes in Ifanadiana, supported by correlations between maternal weight and parental wealth indices and malnutrition vulnerability. The second phase of the longitudinal, long-term study will assess a second cross-section of the population with a new age cohort to clarify these potential predictors. According to Sarah, she and/or her co-authors will indeed be representing the study and its next stages at the upcoming Madagascar symposium, A Crucible for Science, Health and the Environment. February 8^th, don’t miss the chance to learn more! You can find a pdf of the flier at http://globalhealth.stanford.edu/events.html.

http://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/sief-trust-fund/brief/addressing-chronic-malnutrition-in-madagascar

(Emma)