Unconditional Cash Transfers Do Not Prevent Children's Undernutrition in the Moderate Acute Malnutrition Out (MAM'Out) Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural Burkina Faso.

Autor: Houngbe F; Research and Analyses Unit, Action Against Hunger, Paris, France; fhoungbe@actioncontrelafaim.org.; Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium., Tonguet-Papucci A; Research and Analyses Unit, Action Against Hunger, Paris, France.; Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.; UMR Physiologie de la Nutrition et du Comportement Alimentaire, AgroParisTech, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France., Altare C; Research and Analyses Unit, Action Against Hunger, Paris, France., Ait-Aissa M; Research and Analyses Unit, Action Against Hunger, Paris, France., Huneau JF; UMR Physiologie de la Nutrition et du Comportement Alimentaire, AgroParisTech, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France., Huybregts L; Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC., Kolsteren P; Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Journal of nutrition [J Nutr] 2017 Jul; Vol. 147 (7), pp. 1410-1417. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 May 24.
DOI: 10.3945/jn.117.247858
Abstrakt: Background: Limited evidence is available on the impact that unconditional cash transfer (UCT) programs can have on child nutrition, particularly in West Africa, where child undernutrition is still a public health challenge. Objective: This study examined the impact of a multiannual, seasonal UCT program to reduce the occurrence of wasting (weight-for-height, midupper arm circumference), stunting (height-for-age), and morbidity among children <36 mo old in Tapoa Province, in the eastern region of Burkina Faso. Methods: The study was designed as a 2-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial, with 32 villages randomly assigned to either the intervention or the control group. The study population comprised households that were classified as poor or very poor according to household economy approach criteria and that had ≥1 child <1 y of age at inclusion. The intervention consisted of seasonal UCTs, provided monthly from July to November, over 2 y (2013 and 2014). A monthly allowance of 10,000 West African Financial Community of Africa francs (∼US$17) was given by mobile phone to mothers in participating households. Anthropometric measurements and morbidity were recorded on a quarterly basis. Results: We found no evidence that multiannual, seasonal UCTs reduced the cumulative incidence of wasting in young children [incidence rate ratio: 0.92 (95% CI: 0.64, 1.32); P = 0.66]. We observed no significant difference ( P > 0.05) in children's anthropometric measurements and stunting between the 2 groups at the end point. However, children in the intervention group had a lower risk [21% (95% CI: 18.6%, 21.3%); P < 0.001] of self-reported respiratory tract infections than did children in the control group. Conclusions: We found that seasonal UCTs in the framework of safety nets did not result in a significant decrease in the incidence of acute malnutrition among children in Tapoa Province. Cash transfers combined with complementary interventions targeted to child nutrition and health should be investigated further. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01866124.
Competing Interests: Author disclosures: J-FH, LH, and PK, no conflicts of interest. FH, AT-P, CA, and MA-A are employed by Action Against Hunger France, which implemented the MAM’Out study.
(© 2017 American Society for Nutrition.)
Databáze: MEDLINE