Executive Summary
Rationale and objectives of the meeting
In the East Asia and the Pacific Region (EAPR), despite economic growth and achievements in health and nutrition indicators, maternal and child undernutrition rates and burden remain extremely high. The annual estimated number of cases of severe wasting in EAPR countries is over six million, but the indirect coverage of the treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) is less than 2%. Prevention and management of acute malnutrition is therefore a large unfinished agenda in this region.
As part of a broader effort by UNICEF and partners to raise awareness and promote commitment to the issue, the “Regional Consultation on Prevention and Treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition in East Asia and the Pacific” was held in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 24-26, 2015. The meeting was organised by the UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO). Participants included government representatives, UNICEF staff from headquarters, regional offices and EAPRO country offices, staff from other United Nations (UN) agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), such as Save the Children, Action Against Hunger (ACF-UK) and Alive & Thrive (Vietnam), Institute de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), academia (University of Louvain) and donors.
The objectives of the consultation were to:
(1) discuss the latest evidence on nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive delivery platforms and models for the prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition, with a special focus on SAM;
(2) examine the strengths and challenges of the currently implemented approaches in the region, with a focus on SAM management;
(3) identify the importance of acute malnutrition within the larger nutrition operating environment, and the integration into national systems and existing coordination mechanisms at country level.