SASUF Sustainability Forum 2024

Malnutrition in children is a major health problem in both South Africa and Sweden. In South
Africa malnutrition is associated with stunting early in life and with obesity later in life. In Sweden
the prevalent manifestation of malnutririon in children is obesity. The extent of the problem is
substantial with 27% of children below 4 years of age being stunted in South Africa and 15% of 4-
years old having overweight or obesity and essentially none with stunting in Sweden. Malnutrition
early in life in connected with complicteions including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain forms of cancer later in life. It is therefore essential to better understand causes of
malnutrition to be able to effectively intervene.
Malnutrition has been connected with multiple conditions and manifestations. Considerable work
and resources have been invested in understandning these causes and manifestations of
malnutrition in the two settings, exemplified by South Africa ans Sweden. Also, different attempts
to intervene have been made engaging different sociwetal settings and stakeholders. Although
some progress has been made, no solution to the problem has sofar been identified. On the
contray, rates of stunting and overweight inscrease in the two countries, respectively.

In the recently approved project ”Seed to end malnutrition in South Africa and Sweden” (SASUF-
NRF: 2023-2024), we describe three steps to tackle malnutrition:

1. Writing 2 metanalysis articles on effects of previous interventions targeting malnutrition in
South Africa and in Sweden.
2. Workshops with local public health representatives to map unpublished information on
already implemented interventions, both in South Africa and in Sweden.
3. Conducting intervention studies with ECHO-S zones, in the light of more concrete evidence.
In May 2024 the meta-analysis (step 1) will be ready with an updated analysis of previous
interventions to improve malnutrition in South Africa and Sweden. We therefore propose to
organize a workshop, where we will present the results of the study, during the SASUF Innovation
Week.

Dispostion of the workshop
Part 1 (20 min + 10 min break): Summary of the results of the meta-analysis. The article/
manuscript of the meta-analysis will be distributed to participants of the workshop ahead of time.
Part 2 (50 min + 10 min break): Discussion of the results of the meta-analysis in smaller groups
based on specifically formulated questions derived from the meta-analysis and questions
addressing and guiding steps 2 and 3 of the proposal “Seed to end malnutrition in South Africa and
Sweden”.
Part 3 (30 min): Summary of the results of the discussion to guide and formulate steps 2 and 3 of
the proposal “Seed to end malnutrition in South Africa and Sweden”.
Specific input to step 3 will also be available from the results from the proposed satellite event
during the Innovation Week “ECHO zone Sweden".

Keywords: Malnutrition, stunting, obesity, interventions