Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Nutritional Status, Feeding Practices, and Access to Food Among Infants and Children in Lower and Middle-Income Countries: a Narrative Review.

Purpose Of Review: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected children across the planet and the consequences on their health, nutritional status, and social structure have been more pronounced in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This review will focus on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on infant growth and feeding practices and access to food and obesity prevalence among children in LMICs. An electronic search was performed on MEDLINE and Embase to identify relevant articles in the English language.

Improving recognition and management of children with complicated severe acute malnutrition at a tertiary referral hospital in Malawi: a quality improvement initiative.

Background: Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is common in low-income countries and is associated with high mortality in young children.

Objective: To improve recognition and management of SAM in a tertiary hospital in Malawi.

Methods: The impact of multifaceted quality improvement interventions in process measures pertaining to the identification and management of SAM was assessed.

Risk factors for mortality and management of children with complicated severe acute malnutrition at a tertiary referral hospital in Malawi.

Background: Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a major cause of childhood mortality in resource-limited settings. The relationship between clinical factors and adherence to the 'WHO 10 Steps' and mortality in children with SAM is not fully understood.

Methods: Data from an ongoing prospective observational cohort study assessing admission characteristics, management patterns and clinical outcome in children aged 6-36 months admitted to a tertiary hospital in Malawi from September 2018 to September 2019 were analysed.

Mobile instant messaging for rural community health workers: a case from Malawi.

Background: Mobile instant messaging (MIM) tools, such as WhatsApp, have transformed global communication practice. In the field of global health, MIM is an increasingly used, but little understood, phenomenon.

Objectives: It remains unclear how MIM can be used by rural community health workers (CHWs) and their facilitators, and what are the associated benefits and constraints.

Anthropometric characteristics and the burden of altered nutritional status among neuropsychiatric patients at Zomba Mental Hospital in Zomba, Malawi.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of overnutrition and undernutrition among neuropsychiatric inpatients and outpatients at Zomba Mental Hospital in Zomba, Malawi.

Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study (n = 239), data were collected from psychiatric patients who were either inpatients (n = 181) or outpatients (n = 58) at Zomba Mental Hospital, which is the largest mental health facility in Malawi. Information was collected about patient demographics, anthropometric data, dietary information, and tobacco and alcohol use, among other variables.