Guidelines for dietary supplementation of pregnant women in a Rwandan refugee camp.

Units deployed on humanitarian aid may have little experience of the most appropriate interventions which can be expected to produce the most favourable population outcomes. Guidelines produced by UNICEF and the International Dispensary Association (IDA) can be used as a basis for planning. These guidelines were previously untested in Rwanda. This report focuses on iron and folate supplementation for pregnant women suggested by the IDA. The high levels of anaemia in pregnancy would suggest that supplementation is appropriate. However, before fully embracing the full set of recommendations, further field testing would be sensible.