Community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) programme in Pakistan effectively treats children with uncomplicated severe wasting

Severe wasting is the most widespread form of severe acute malnutrition, affecting an estimated 17 million children globally. This analysis assesses the effectiveness of Pakistan's community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) programme. We conducted a retrospective case series analysis of 32,458 children aged 6–59 months who were admitted to the programme with a mid‐upper arm circumference (MUAC) < 115 mm (January 1–December 31, 2014). We found that at admission, 59.6% of the children were girls and 87.4% were in the age group 6–23 months old. While in the programme, 120 children (0.4%) died, 3,456 (10.6%) defaulted, and 28,882 (89.0%) were discharged after a mean length of stay of 69.3 ± 25.7 days. Children's mean weight gain while in the programme was 3.2 ± 2.7 g/kg body weight/day. At discharge, 28,499 children (98.7% of discharged) had recovered (MUAC ≥ 125 mm). The odds of death were significantly higher among children with weight‐for‐height (WHZ) < −3 and/or height‐for‐age (HAZ) < −2 at admission. The odds of recovery on the basis of MUAC ≥125 mm were higher among children with HAZ ≥ −2 at admission. The odds of recovery on the basis of WHZ ≥ −2 were significantly higher among children with WHZ ≥ −3 and/or HAZ < −2 at admission. Pakistan's CMAM programme is effective in achieving good survival and recovery rates. Population‐level impact could be increased by giving priority to children 6–23 months old and children with multiple anthropometric failure and by scaling up CMAM in the provinces and areas where the risk, prevalence, and/or burden of severe acute malnutrition is highest.