PD030 - EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF OUTPATIENT NUTRITION CENTERS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MALNUTRITION OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE IN A HEALTH ZONE IN NORTHERN BENIN

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PD030

EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF OUTPATIENT NUTRITION CENTERS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MALNUTRITION OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE IN A HEALTH ZONE IN NORTHERN BENIN

C. S. Azandjeme1,*, J. B. Halogla1, C. G. Metonnou1

1Health Promotion, Regional Institute of Public Health, University of Abomey-Calavi, Ouidah, Benin

 

Rationale: Acute malnutrition is a public health problem affecting all age groups, but particularly children under five with enormous consequences including disability, vulnerability and death. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of nutrition centers in the management of acute malnutrition in outpatient children under five in a Northen health area in 2025 in Benin.

Methods: The evaluative study was conducted in 43 ambulatory nutrition healthcare centers with data of 240 malnourished children under five. Varkevisser scale was used to access the performance of these nutrition healthcare centers. Factors contributing to poor performance were detected.

Results: The performance of these nutrition centers was judged globally poor (78.9%) with poor score for the structure (70.32%), while the ‘Process’ and “Results” components respectively at 87.70% and 87.50% score were judged acceptable. The recovery rate of malnutrition in under five children, ranges from 93.3% to 99.1% with reasonable rates of case-fatality, dropout, weight gain, and length of stay according to national protocol. The factors contributing to poor performance in these centers include low staff training rate (13,9%), insufficient cooking equipment (16.3%), insufficient dietary treatment (77%), poor nutritional education, particularly cooking demonstrations (37.2%), and lack of nutritional products (Plympy-nut, Resomal).

Conclusion: Strengthening staff capacity and ensuring that the necessary resources are available to properly treat malnutrition in these ambulatory nutrition centers will improve their performance.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared