FANTA-2 reviews of national experiences of CMAM

In 2010 and 2011, FANTA-2 conducted a series of reviews of community based management of acute malnutrition in Mauritania, Burkino Faso, Mali, Niger, Sudan and Ghana. The reviews involved document review and field trips. Areas of focus for Mauritania, Burkino Faso, Mali and Niger included CMAM integration into the health system and into other relevant health and nutrition initiatives, CMAM scale up plans and activities (national and sub-national), capacity development, and successes and lessons learned to inform strategy development and programming.

In Sudan, community outreach experiences and strategy development for CMAM was the particular focus.

In Ghana, on the request of the SAM Severe Acute Malnutrition Support Unit (SAM SU) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), FANTA conducted a review of CMAM activities at district and learning site level including plans for scaling up. The objectives of the review were to assess the integration of CMAM services into the learning sites, assess learning sites’ performance, review recent plans and initiatives to scale up CMAM in Ghana, and provide recommendations for strengthening those plans.

As well as individual reports for each review, a summary report of review findings in the four West African countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger) is available. The report discusses the key determinants for achieving maximum impact of CMAM integration, scale-up, and quality improvement. The determinants are grouped in five domains: the enabling environment for CMAM, competencies for CMAM, access to CMAM services, access to CMAM supplies, and quality of CMAM. Optimal practices, a summary of findings, constraints, and practical recommendations are provided for each key determinant.

All reports are available to download at: http://www.fantaproject.org