Severe malnutrition in children in Papua New Guinea: effect of a multi-faceted intervention to improve quality of care and nutritional outcomes.

Background And Aims: Severe malnutrition remains a major problem in Papua New Guinea; it is associated with 11% of paediatric hospital admissions and 33% of all child deaths, with a case fatality rate around 20%. This article aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-faceted intervention for improving care for children with severe malnutrition.

Methods: Severe malnutrition was defined as weight-for-age (WFA) <-3 Z-scores with severe wasting or mid upper arm circumference <115 mm or generalised oedema owing to malnutrition.