SUMMARY

Owing to its major health and social consequences, malnutrition in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso is a determinant of noma. The ‘Projet de Sensibilisation et de Renforcement des Capacités pour la Prévention du Noma’ (PSRCPN/BF) aims to reduce morbidity due to malnutrition and noma through an integrated community-based approach. This article presents the nutrition component of this project.

METHODS

The PSRCPN/BF has three main objectives: prevention of malnutrition, improvement of oral and dental health, and management of noma cases. The nutrition component targets pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as children aged six to 23 months via integrated strategies: awareness-raising via community groups, malnutrition screening, referral of detected cases to health centres and distribution of enriched rations of infant flour. Partnerships with NGOs, local associations and public health structures have helped to implement the program in 104 villages.

RESULTS

The project achieved significant results between 2021 and 2024. 6,030 awareness-raising groups were created with women volunteers, with an effective participation rate of over 96% of the target audience. 134,804 children were screened each year. All children screened positive were referred to health centres. The prevalence of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) were 0.93% and 3.68%, respectively. These numbers decreased from 1.35% in 2021 to 0.57% in 2024 for SAM, and from 4.53 to 2.10% for MAM.

CONCLUSION

While malnutrition has declined significantly, its prevalence remains a matter of concern and the fight against it must be intensified. The project findings suggest the effectiveness of integrated strategies and highlights the importance of implementing a community-based, multi-sectoral approach.