COVID-19 Nutrition Digest (May 2020)

Adapting to the changed circumstances during COVID-19 pandemic (Image courtesy: POSHAN team)

POSHAN (Partnerships and Opportunities to Strengthen and Harmonize Actions for Nutrition in India) presents COVID-19 Nutrition Digest – a collection of recently published peer- and non-peer-reviewed resources, including research articles blogposts, opinion pieces etc. We collate these from various sources, analyzing the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the outcomes, determinants and coverage of interventions related to maternal and child nutrition. We hope that you will find this information useful as we all look for ways to address malnutrition in the changing context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peer-reviewed resources

Outcomes

Early estimates of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study

Roberton, T., E.D. Carter, V.B. Chou, A.R. Stegmuller, B.D. Jackson, Y.Tam, T. Sawadogo-Lewis, and N. Walker. 2020. “Early estimates of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study”. The Lancet Global Health. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30229-1

While the COVID-19 pandemic will increase mortality due to the virus, it is also likely to increase mortality indirectly. In this study, the authors estimate the additional maternal and under-5 child deaths resulting from the potential disruption of health systems and decreased access to food. Read more.

Comment

Avoiding indirect effects of COVID-19 on maternal and child health

Menendez, C., R. Gonzalez, F. Donnay, and R.G.F. Leke. 2020. “Avoiding indirect effects of COVID-19 on maternal and child health”. The Lancet Global Health. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30239-4.

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is challenging the resilience of the most solid health systems in the world. In many low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), the disease is rapidly spreading amid numerous endemic health problems such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, malnutrition, and frequent outbreaks of viral infections with high associated mortality. All this occurs in a context of weak health infrastructures that can barely cope with the aforementioned existing health challenges. In this article authors comment on the modelling study by Roberton and colleagues to estimate the indirect effects of the coronavirus pandemic on maternal and child mortality in LMICs. Read more.

Comment

A wake-up call: COVID-19 and its impact on children's health and wellbeing

Fore, H. H. 2020. “A wake-up call: COVID-19 and its impact on children's health and wellbeing”. The Lancet Global Health. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30238-2

In The Lancet Global Health, Roberton and colleagues present startling new evidence on the potential rise in maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries if essential health services are disrupted as a result of COVID-19. Building on lessons learned from previous outbreaks of Ebola virus disease and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the authors estimate a devastating increase in the numbers of maternal and child deaths resulting from reductions in routine health service coverage. Read more.

Nutrition support in the time of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

Laviano, A., A. Koverech, and M. Zanetti. 2020. “Nutrition support in the time of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)”. Nutrition 74: 110834. Doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2020.110834.

Nutrition is a key determinant of health. More importantly, nutrition is part of the treatment regimen for acute and chronic diseases and applies particularly to ailments for which an etiologic treatment has not yet been discovered and validated. The 2014–2016 Ebola virus outbreak in Western Africa demonstrated that immediate supportive care significantly reduces case fatality rates. This may apply as well to the current SARS-CoV-2 (or COVID-19) pandemic that is ravaging the world. Read more.

Nutrition amid the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-level framework for action

Naja, F., and R. Hamadeh. 2020. “Nutrition amid the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-level framework for action”. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-020-0634-3

In order to enhance the physical and mental health of individuals vis a vis the COVID-19 pandemic, this commentary presents a framework for action to maintain optimal nutrition at the individual, community, national and global levels using an adapted version of the ecological model of health behavior. Read more.

Determinants

India’s food system in the time of COVID-19

Bhamoriya, A.V., P. Gupta, M. Kaushik, A. Kishore, R. Kumar, A. Sharma, and S. Verma. 2020. “India’s Food System in the Time of COVID-19”. Economic and Political Weekly 55(15): 12-14.

India’s complete lockdown has caused unnecessary disruptions in the food supply chain, with the scarcity of labour making it even worse. A sharp decline in demand is imminent with the financial sector being in a freeze and incomes having shrunk for everyone, except for the small salaried class. Consumer sentiment and business outlook on recovery are bleak. While ensuring the free movement of essential goods and availability and safety of labour can mitigate the immediate disruptions in the supply chain, unclogging the financial sector and restoring optimism in the market will take time and heroic efforts from the government. Read more.

Non-peer-reviewed resources

Outcomes