WASHINGTON, April 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Eleanor Crook
Foundation (ECF) and CRI Foundation have made a $1.5 million investment with Action Against
Hunger to accelerate local adaptation and country-led uptake of the
new global malnutrition guidelines from the World Health
Organization (WHO). Implementation of the newly updated WHO
guidelines has the potential to dramatically reduce global child
deaths through the application of updated evidence on the
prevention and treatment of child wasting, the deadliest form of
malnutrition. CRI Foundation is a co-investor in the partnership
with Action Against Hunger, sharing a commitment to translate the
guidelines into action and save lives. Their investment will
support partnerships for countries in Africa.
Through a multi-country approach, Action Against Hunger will
work with the leadership of governments in the Central African Republic, Republic of Côte
d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Tanzania, and the Lao People's Democratic
Republic to expedite the adoption of the new WHO guidelines at the
national level. Additional countries are being confirmed and may be
added to this initiative in the coming months. Action Against
Hunger will facilitate a consultative approach aligned with each
government's priorities and processes, and engage with each
country's network of partners, including UN agencies, to update
national wasting policies. This work began at the start of the year
and will continue throughout 2024.
Dr. Phonesavanh, Director General of the Laos Ministry of
Health, Centre of Nutrition, said: "This is a timely opportunity,
as our current National Guidelines [were] written six years ago and
our direct users have had several comments on the need to update
[them] and align with the global standards. This will be a
significant and helpful change in our service delivery as we
continue to provide the best lifesaving care for our children,
considering the ever-changing clinical practice around the world.
We are grateful for the Eleanor Crook Foundation and Action Against
Hunger for taking this much needed initiative and the support from
our development partners."
In Tanzania, Dr. Ntuli
Kapologwe, Director of Preventive Services, stated: "The project is
very well aligned to the National priorities, and it is very
important to include all small and big nutrition stakeholders
during the guidelines review process."
The WHO released the guideline update on the Prevention and
Management of Wasting and Nutrition Oedema in 2023. A
decade had passed since the last issuance of WHO wasting
guidelines. During that time, transformative research on the
prevention and treatment of wasting was conducted, significantly
advancing the evidence base to more effectively address this
pervasive global problem. ECF highlights the most striking
recommendations in a blog post here.
The guidelines arrived at a crucial moment; 45 million children
around the world are currently estimated to suffer from wasting,
and the crisis has deepened in recent years due to the effects of
climate change, conflict, and global economic volatility. ECF,
along with others, contributed funding for the guideline
development process; funders did not participate in any decisions
related to WHO's process or recommendations.
The WHO guidelines inspired great interest from government
stakeholders around the world, and in response, ECF issued a call
for expressions of interest to expedite adoption in interested
countries. Action Against Hunger is well positioned to undertake
this work, as their staff have extensive experience in conducting
evaluations of national wasting programs and assisting national
governments in reviewing and updating their processes for treating
child wasting.
"The creation of the new WHO Wasting Guidelines is a significant
milestone for those in the nutrition space and presents a unique
opportunity to holistically prevent and treat wasting through the
adoption of evidence-based practices," said Tobias Stillman, Director, Technical Services,
Action Against Hunger-USA. "It's
critical that key implementers, like Action Against Hunger, seize
this moment to push for rapid uptake of the new guidelines to save
lives, and we are grateful for our partners ECF and the CRI
Foundation who share this sense of urgency."
"The updated WHO guidelines offer new possibilities for
delivering life-saving wasting treatment and prevention more
effectively and efficiently, once operationalized," said
Will Moore, CEO of ECF. "ECF is
thrilled to partner with Action Against Hunger, working under the
leadership of national governments, to put action behind these
improved malnutrition treatment procedures. Now is the time to
scale up these revised approaches – because the sooner we put new
policies into place, the more children's lives will be saved today
and in generations to come."
About the Eleanor Crook Foundation (ECF):
The Eleanor
Crook Foundation is a growing U.S. philanthropy fighting to end
global malnutrition through research, policy analysis, and
advocacy.
About Action Against Hunger:
For 45 years,
Action Against Hunger has led the global movement to end hunger,
for everyone, for good. Action Against Hunger innovates solutions,
advocates for change, and reaches 28 million people every year with
proven hunger prevention and treatment programs.
About CRI Foundation:
CRI is a private foundation with
the mission of improving the lives of the world's ultra poor.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Eleanor Crook Foundation
Nyequai Harte, Associate Director of Communications
nharte@eleanorcrookfoundation.org
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SOURCE The Eleanor Crook Foundation