Food and Nutrition Bulletin
Volume 33, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 150-160

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees feeding program performance in Kenya and Tanzania: A retrospective analysis of routine Health Information System data (Article)

Tappis H.* , Doocy S. , Haskew C. , Wilkinson C. , Oman A. , Spiegel P.
  • a Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
  • b Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
  • c United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland
  • d United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland
  • e United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland
  • f United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland

Abstract

Background: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Health Information System is a primary source of routine nutrition program data and provides a comprehensive assessment of UNHCR selective feeding programs in more than 90 refugee camps in 18 countries worldwide. Objective: To evaluate the coverage and effectiveness of UNHCR supplementary and therapeutic feeding programs for malnourished children under 5 years of age in Kenya and Tanzania refugee camps. Methods: Analysis of Kenya and Tanzania refugee camp population, growth monitoring, and nutrition program data from the UNHCR Health Information System. Results: UNHCR-supported implementing partners in Kenya and Tanzania admitted nearly 45,000 malnourished refugee children in selective feeding programs between January 2006 and May 2009. Average recovery rates of 77.1% and 84.6% in the therapeutic and supplementary programs, respectively, mortality rates of less than 1%, and average readmission below 5% suggest that feeding programs had a beneficial effect on enrolled children. Conclusions: Increasing admission and enrollment in supplementary feeding programs was successful in preventing cases of severe malnutrition in some camps. Further attention to these camps would be likely to yield sizeable benefits in terms of absolute reductions in malnutrition prevalence and mortality rates. © 2012, The United Nations University.

Author Keywords

Humanitarian intervention Malnutrition Refugee Supplementary feeding Therapeutic feeding

Index Keywords

Tanzania malnutrition Food Supplementation refugee Kenya child health health risk mortality age class
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84863009464&doi=10.1177%2f156482651203300209&partnerID=40&md5=6bc5e9a84f3177b035092994f9658e97
DOI: 10.1177/156482651203300209
ISSN: 03795721
Cited by: 7
Original Language: English