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East and Southern Africa Regional Implementation Guidance on Simplified Approaches to the Treatment of Wasting

Many countries in the East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) have implemented simplified approaches to the identification and treatment of
wasting over the past few years. Most of these approaches have been implemented through either formal pilots/research or ad hoc to mitigate operational challenges. As an increasing amount of positive evidence has been gathered globally on the efficacy of simplified approaches in terms of treatment outcomes, there is an interest in the ESAR for implementation guidance on the use of simplified approaches in routine programming through the health system. In the ESAR, Simplified Approaches  to the treatment of wasting have been useful in both development and emergency contexts.
In the development context, many countries in the region have seen a decrease in wasting and severe wasting, resulting in an improved nutrition situation, which often leads to fewer financial resources allocated to nutrition services. Countries in development contexts have started using simplified approaches to streamline nutrition services making them more efficient in relation to cost and workload. In the emergency context, countries facing
acute or protracted crisis related to conflict or climate change are implementing simplified approaches to mitigate operational challenges while maintaining quality treatment outcomes.For countries in an emergency context, A global decision tree1 was developed to help countries determine which simplifications are appropriate in exceptional circumstances.

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