Children’s Nutritional Rehabilitation Program in Beira, Mozambique: A Retrospective Study
Am. j. trop. med. hyg; 105 (6), 2021
Publication year: 2021
Malnutrition is still a major public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa and Mozambique. The main aim of this
study was to evaluate the adherence to the nutritional rehabilitation program (NRP) and its impact on the growth of
malnourished children in Beira, Mozambique. The secondary aim was to verify the prevalence of HIV infection in
malnourished children at the time of admission to the NRP. A retrospective observational study in Beira Central Hospital and
10 health centers in Beira, Mozambique, was conducted. All children 0 to 5 years of age with acute malnutrition admitted to
the outpatient services of the NRP from March 2016 until February 2017 were included in the study. A total of 1,231 children
with the following characteristics have been enrolled: 58% female; 33% severely malnourished; and 16.5% HIV-positive. Of
the 198 (21.7%) children who completed the program, 177 (89.4%) recovered from malnutrition and 21 (10.6%) did not. Ten
(1.1%) were hospitalized and 706 (77.2%) dropped out of the program. Among children who completed the program, the
median weight-for-length and weight-for-height z-scores at admission were $ 23 and , 22; at discharge, these median
z-scores were $ 21 (P , 0.001). Children with HIV infection and who were male had a higher prevalence of severe acute
malnutrition (P, 0.001).Weight gain wasfound to be significant after 23 days (P 5 0.004) of consuming supplements(readyto-use therapeutic food). A diagnosis of the degree of malnutrition was accurate at admission for 70.5%; at discharge, this
diagnosis was accurate for 67.2%. The NRP seems to be successful if correctly followed, even if it is limited by adherence
problems. However, its effectiveness requires further investigation.