Effects of Supplementary Feeding on the Nutritional Status of Internally Displaced School Children in the West Region of Cameroon

Supplementary feeding has been verified as highly cost-effective in improving nutritional and health statuses, especially in vulnerable children such as those affected by a crisis. The objective of this study was to assess effects of supplementary feeding with an enriched corn-soy mixture on the nutritional status of internally displaced schoolchildren in the West Region of Cameroon.

In this study, pretest-posttest randomized experimental design was used. Sixty internally displaced schoolchildren were recruited from four primary schools in the West Region of Cameroon. They were subdivided into two groups of 30 children each (intervention and control groups). Children in the intervention group were fed with an enriched corn-soy mixture three times a week for 13 w, while those in the control group did not receive the formulated food. Anthropometric, biochemical and morbidity statuses and clinical signs of the malnutrition in the children were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the supplementation using standard anthropometric and biochemical equipment and pretested questionnaires.

Children who received the enriched corn-soy mixture gained averagely a further 0.41 kg of weight and an average of further 0.46 cm of height, compared to the control group. There were statistically significant improvements in the mean weight-for-age (p = 0.032), BMI-for-age (p = 0.000) and MUAC-for-age Z-scores (p = 0.001), clinical signs of malnutrition [xerosis (p = 0.048), Bitot’s spot (p = 0.047) and pallor (p = 0.025)] and hematological indicators such as serum albumin (p = 0.026) and hemoglobin (p = 0.043) levels.

This study highlights that supplementary feeding with enriched corn-soy mixture is one of the effective ways of decreasing prevalence of malnutrition in vulnerable children.