By Agnes Kyotalengerire / New Vision
The three-day meeting attracted investigators from the six collaborating countries of Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh and Pakistan who admit malnourished children, follow them through hospitalization and then six months after.
Researchers and scientists belonging to Childhood Acute Illness & Nutrition (CHAIN) Network this week gathered at Speke Resort Muyonyo, Kampala to discuss how to improve survival rate of under malnourished children through interventions that might address nutrition, medical, social, and economic challenges.
"These are highly vulnerable children, many of whom die while others get medical problems. We are sharing these issues, deciding as a group where our priorities lie and moving forward to try and help these children in the best way possible,” said Judd Walson, the Co- Principal Investigator and Professor of Global Health at University of Washington, Seattle, USA, while closing the meeting on Wednesday.
Although globally there has been a reduction in overall child mortality since 1990, many children continue to die from avoidable causes. Malnutrition is an underlying cause for almost half of the deaths as it increases susceptibility to common infections, such as pneumonia and diarrhoea.
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