IYCF-E and MAMI

This brief has been developed to help to improve understanding of the synergies between infant and young child feeding in emergencies (IYCF-E)/infant feeding in emergencies (IFE) and the management of small and nutritionally at-risk infants under six months and their mothers (MAMI) to catalyse collaboration and strengthen practice in humanitarian contexts. This brief is not prescriptive as to what to do but identifies avenues to explore to enable responsive, appropriate care. The development of the brief involved consultation with members of the IFE Core Group and the MAMI Global Network (see Box 1). This brief provides clarity on the key issues identified through the consultation and is, we hope, a first step towards a future more dynamic collaboration.

This brief is relevant for those working with infants, young children, and their mothers at global, regional, national, or sub-national level across nutrition and health in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. The relevant sectors and disciplines include, but are not limited to, the integrated management of childhood illness, services that prevent or treat acute malnutrition/wasting, antenatal and postnatal services, growth monitoring programmes, and women’s/maternal health and nutrition.

Emergencies disrupt systems of care in many ways at different levels of scale and consequence, may be acute or chronic, and are often unpredictable. Emergencies particularly challenge the vision of care continuity where systems of health (from formal to informal structures and at a household leveli) are already insecure or vulnerable, further disrupting services and capacities. The consequences of existing gaps in care continuity and service provision may be further accentuated.