Politics
More than 40 million children under the age of five worldwide suffer from a form of acute malnutrition known as “wasting,” which can affect children’s long-term growth
More than 40 million children under the age of five worldwide suffer from a form of acute malnutrition known as “wasting,” which can affect children’s long-term growth and development and may become life-threatening if not diagnosed and treated in time. According to UNICEF, malnutrition in children can be detected early using a simple, low-cost Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) tape that requires minimal training to use. It helps identify the risk of malnutrition in children aged 6 months to 5 years. MUAC tapes are particularly useful in areas where traditional methods of assessing nutritional status based on weight and height are difficult to implement, especially during humanitarian crises and in remote areas.
However, MUAC results are used alongside other medical, diagnostic, and physical measurements to determine whether a child requires nutritional care. A traffic-light color system is used to indicate the risk of malnutrition. The MUAC tape is wrapped around the middle of a child’s upper arm to take a measurement. Different colors on the tape provide an immediate indication of the level of malnutrition risk. Green indicates that the child is unlikely to have severe malnutrition. Yellow indicates a possible risk of moderate malnutrition, which may require nutritional support and follow-up. Red indicates a possible case of severe malnutrition and requires immediate medical assessment, referral, and treatment, which may include Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). UNICEF supplies more than 30 million MUAC tapes on average each year, enabling community health workers in around 60 countries to screen millions of children for malnutrition. Each tape costs approximately $0.06.
In accordance with new guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF has added an orange color to the MUAC tape, creating a new four-color version. Orange indicates a high-risk form of moderate acute malnutrition, in which the child requires close monitoring, nutritional support, and therapeutic food. According to UNICEF, use of the new four-color MUAC tape has already begun and is gradually being expanded to additional areas.
For infants as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women, UNICEF has also developed a Mother-Infant MUAC Tape in line with WHO guidelines. It can be used for rapid screening of malnutrition in very young infants aged 6 weeks to 6 months. On one side of the tape, the green section indicates a lower risk of poor growth in an infant, while the purple section indicates an increased risk. In such cases, the child should be taken to a health facility for further medical assessment. The tape can also be used by trained health workers to measure an infant’s head circumference, which may help with the early identification of potential neurodevelopmental problems. The other side of the tape is used to measure the mid-upper arm circumference of pregnant and breastfeeding women, helping to identify maternal under nutrition at an early stage. A mother’s nutritional status is directly linked to her child’s growth and health. To expand access to malnutrition screening tools, UNICEF also makes MUAC tape designs available for local printing when quality requirements are met. This initiative can reduce delivery times and costs while also lowering carbon emissions associated with long-distance transportation.
