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How many volunteers were present at the Congress? : |
For four days, health professionals, students, policymakers, and researchers engaged in passionate debate and dialogue as part of the IAEA International Symposium on Understanding Moderate Malnutrition in Children for Effective Interventions. From determining the best breastfeeding habits to crafting national policies, a range of emerging and ongoing subjects were addressed by the symposium’s 350 attendees |
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Delegates from which countries presented in the congress? : |
The IAEA provides information on the theoretical background as well as the practical application on the measurement of body composition using stable isotope dilution and dual-energy X ray absorptiometry (DXA) in the related links to the right. The conference, which was held in the IAEA’s Vienna headquarters from 26-29 May, brought together participants from 65 countries to reflect on challenges and solutions in the field of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). |
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Were the delegates of any other organizations present in the congress? : |
Yes |
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If yes, please write the names of the organizations in the box : |
(-Micronutrient initiatives (MI)-2-World health organization (WHO)-3-World food program (WFP) |
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What were the responses to your talking points? Were specific questions or concerns raised? : |
: I presented two posters
1- Successful Decreases of Malnutrition among Children in Islamic Republic of Iran in the Past Two Decades(no.64)
2-The Determination of National Growth Charts to Prevent and Manage Malnutrition in Iranian Children: Necessity and Importance (no.85)
The results of my presentation about the intervention we have done to control malnutrition was so interesting to delegates and they were familiar with our capacity and also aware that Iran has done the most successful activities in combating the poverty and malnutrition of children and has the best situation in respect of lowering the malnutrition levels of children among the Middle East and North Africa states. |
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If you met staff members, please list their full names & positions. : |
Mr Tarik Becic, Nutritional and Health-Related Environmental Studies Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency
Ms Najat Mokhtar , Nutritional and Health-Related Environmental Studies Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency
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Please inform us if there are any follow up actions we need to talk with the members of the congress : |
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been a leader in developing and promoting the use of standardized protocols for body composition assessment using stable isotope techniques. Such techniques provide sensitive means of assessing the impact of interventions on the quality of growth, i.e., lean vs. fat body mass accumulation. This key information can complement and contribute to global efforts in improving infant and child nutrition.
I took part nearly in all sessions and these issues were very useful for me:
Study design in trials among children with MAM
Pre-service and in-service capacity building
Practical usage of RUTF
New formulation of ready to use foods.
I hope this kind of useful congresses take place again
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Your experiences about the travel processes(Providing ticket, accommodation,...) : |
IAEA is not in a position to assist participants with hotel bookings, nor can the IAEA assume responsibility for paying cancellation fees or for re-bookings and no shows, So I made my own travel and accommodation arrangements. I reserved a hotel apartment (pension gaber) one month before my trip and also booked a suitable flight to Vienna in Iran air airline. |
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Please give a briefing of your own observations and outcomes of the congress: : |
Under nutrition, already one of the world’s most serious health problems, is at risk of worsening as the global economy deteriorates. In poor countries, under nutrition is the largest single contributor of more than one third of all deaths of children under five years of age, many of which are preventable through effective nutrition interventions. Thus, reducing under nutrition is vital for children's survival, particularly in poor countries, and consequently for socio-economic development. Moderate malnutrition is associated with more nutrition-related deaths than severe malnutrition because moderate malnutrition affects a greater number of children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), moderate malnutrition includes all children with moderate wasting, defined as a weight-for-height between -3 and -2 z-scores with reference to the WHO Child Growth Standards, and those will moderate stunting, defined as a height-for-age between -3 and -2 z-scores with reference to the WHO Child Growth Standards. Most of these children will be moderately underweight (weight-for-age between -3 and -2 z-scores). This symposium will focus on the management (prevention and treatment) of moderate wasting or moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). The importance of MAM should not be neglected. Although moderate wasting is not a condition of medical urgency, it can easily deteriorate. If some of these undernourished children with moderate wasting do not receive adequate support, they may progress towards severe acute malnutrition (SAM) — defined by the presence of severe wasting and/or bilateral pitting edema — which is a life threatening condition. The provision of complementary food to prevent and treat moderate malnutrition among children under two years of age is also less costly (US $40-80 per child) than the treatment of SAM (US $200 per episode and per child). Therefore, the management of MAM should be a public health priority. Preventing MAM could go hand-in-hand with preventing stunting, especially when the focus is on ensuring consumption of nutrition complementary food in addition to breastfeeding between the ages of 6 and 23 months. More evidence on effective programmatic approaches to manage moderate wasting is needed. In the evaluation of interventions, functional and structural outcomes such as body composition should be included in addition to the traditional methods used to assess healthy physical, cognitive and psychomotor development. Accurate assessment of body composition to determine the nature of the weight gained (lean body mass and fat body mass) over time can provide key information for evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of interventions, as well as for gauging the risk of chronic diseases |