Nutrition bottlenecks, barriers and solutions in Rakhine State, Myanmar

Key nutrition services in Rakhine could not be implemented as planned in 2021. The nutrition dashboard for Rakhine (January to December 2021) showed that 41% of the target for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) treatment was reached (3,758 children out of 9,105 targeted), while for moderate acute malnutrition treatment (MAM) only 20% of the target was reached (6,425 children out of 31,509 targeted). Many more (185,401) children 6-59 months of age were screened with mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) in 2021 as compared to the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) target for the year of 87,327. The 4W overview (UNICEF August 2021) showed that MUAC screening was done in half of all villages and wards in Rakhine. The fact that many more children were screened and that substantially less were reached for MAM/SAM treatment (as compared to the annual targets) suggests that there is a discrepancy between screening and treatment.