Authors: Rachel Bridge, Tracy Kuo Lin
Malnutrition, especially undernutrition, is a major global problem, particularly affecting children under five years old in conflict-affected, fragile settings (CAFS). Community health worker (CHW) models have been used to tackle this issue, but there’s limited systematic evidence on their effectiveness in CAFS. In this review, 25 studies from 10 countries were analyzed to evaluate CHW models’ impact on preventing, identifying, and managing child undernutrition in CAFS. CHWs, often linked with various interventions like behavior change communication and nutrition counseling, showed promise in addressing undernutrition. However, challenges like conflict disruptions and weak health systems hindered their effectiveness, while community connections and quality training were facilitators. Overall, CHW models appear effective and scalable, but more evidence is needed to strengthen practices for combating child undernutrition in CAFS, which could inform policy and program design.
Link: Evidence on the impact of community health workers in the prevention, identification, and management of undernutrition amongst children under the age of five in conflict-affected or fragile settings: a systematic literature review
Resource Topic: Child health
Resource Type: Review
Year: 2024
Region: Not specified
Country:
Publisher May Restrict Access: No