Gaps in implementation guidance on the prevention and treatment of wasting: stakeholder survey report

The updated World Health Organization's (WHO) Guideline on the Prevention and Management of Wasting and Nutritional Oedema (Acute Malnutrition) is expected in July 2023.

Guidance will be needed to support the implementation of the recommendations and good practice statements within this guideline. Implementation guidance may also be needed to address the technical gaps that do not fall within the scope of the WHO guidelines. Guidance may take different forms depending on the need and the end-user and it may be developed by different initiatives/collectives/groups depending on remit, capacity and resources.

To help to inform and align efforts and to maximise utility to user needs, ENN conducted an online survey that sought input from a range of stakeholders. We asked the respondents about the gaps they are experiencing in technical guidance and the types of tools needed. This report presents the results of this survey: Table 2 summarises the top 20 responses; Table 3 provides more detail. We also incorporate the gaps identified during the WHO Clinical Care in Crisis (formerly EM Care) app development and through the Global Nutrition Cluster Technical Alliance.

This survey was initiated to inform the plans and actions of a recently formed UNICEF/WHO Technical Advisory Group on Wasting and Nutritional Oedema (Acute Malnutrition) (TAG). One of the TAG’s functions will be to advise on and review the implementation guidance developed by UNICEF and WHO to support the wasting and nutritional oedema (acute malnutrition) guideline implementation.