Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) threatens the lives of millions of children globally. In developing countries, 15% of the population is undernourished; and half of the mortality for children younger than 5 years old is associated to undernutrition (UNICEF, 2008), the most vulnerable population to malnutrition. Overall, Haiti reports 19.2% of children are undernourished, 11.4% are underweight, and 10.3% are wasted (Lutter et al., 2011; DHS, 2005, CWW-proposal, 2007). The treatment for the management of SAM has evolved over the decades (Lancet, 2006). The Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) is an evidence-based intervention with proven effectiveness for treating children with SAM (Collins, 2007). The CMAM intervention reduces infant mortality related to SAM (Lancet, 2006, Collins, 2007; WHO, 2001; UNICEF, 2009). The CMAM intervention was validated in 2007 through the United Nations agencies for the management of SAM. Nevertheless, it has had limited reach and poor public health impact in some of the developing countries (e.g.; Haiti) where it was implemented. Concern Worldwide is a non-profit humanitarian organization, which pioneered in the creation of the CMAM intervention. Concern introduced the CMAM interventions in Haiti in October 2007 as a pilot program. The program was implemented in close to 20 health institutions in the metropolitan Port-au-Prince. As is the case with any other public health program, there were many challenges to the CMAM intervention implementation in Haiti. Concern’s CMAM intervention was not sustainable after it retracted the technical support in 2012 (UNICEF-Haiti country report, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to first review the Concern Worldwide CMAM program implementation in five communes of Port-au-Prince. Then, a suggested plan is outlined for the revitalization of the intervention’s activities and long-term sustainability once revitalized.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / Introduction: Malnutrition is the immediate result of inadequate dietary intake, the presence of disease or the interaction between these two factors. It is a complicated problem, an outcome of several etiologies. SAM is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children under the age of five in developing countries. Although studies in Botswana show some improvement in child malnutrition since the 1980s, severe acute malnutrition still remains a cause for concern in many parts of the country. There is little information on undernourishment situation of children under the age of five years in the urban areas of the country. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the risk factors to severe acute malnutrition among children under the age of five years in Francistown, Botswana. The UNICEF conceptual framework was used as a guide in assessing and analysing the causes of the nutrition problem in children and assisted in the identification of appropriate solutions. Methods: The study was conducted on cases who had been admitted and referred at any time between March and July 2015. A quantitative research methodology was used to conduct the study. A case-control study design was utilised. Random selection of cases and controls was done on a ratio of 1:2 case per control. Cases included children under the age of five years admitted to Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital and those referred to the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre within the hospital in Francistown-Botswana with a diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition. Controls were children of the same age, gender and attending the same Child welfare clinic as the case and with good nutritional status. Data was collected through face-to-face standardised interviews with care-givers. Results: Data collection was done using a combination of a review of records (child welfare clinic registers, and child welfare clinic cards) and structured questionnaires. 52 cases and 104 controls were selected with the primary or secondary care-giver as the respondent. (N=156). Data was collected using a self-developed structured questionnaire and the review of documents. Of all the cases 36.5% (n=19) were diagnosed with MAM, 46.2% (n=24) with SAM, 1.9% (n=1) with moderate PEM and 7.7% (n=4) each for PEM and Severe PEM. All the cases had presented with clinical signs and symptoms of severe acute malnutrition and/or the weight-for-height Z-score of ≤ -3 SD. Following placement of the data in regression models, the factors that were found to be significantly associated with child malnutrition were low birth weight (AOR = 0.437; 95% CI = 0.155-1.231) , exclusive breastfeeding (AOR = 2.741; 95% CI = 0.955-7.866), child illness (AOR = 0.383; 95% CI = 0.137-1.075), growth chart status (AOR =7.680; 95% CI = 1.631-36.157), level of care-giver’s education (AOR = 0.953; 95% CI = 0.277-3.280), breadwinner's work status (AOR = 1.579; 95% CI = 0.293-8.511), mother’s HIV status (AOR = 0.777; 95% CI = 0.279-2.165), alcohol consumption (AOR = 0.127; 95% CI = 0.044-0.369), household having more than one child under the age of five (AOR = 0.244; 95% CI = 0.087-0.682), household food availability (AOR = 0.823; 95% CI = 0.058-11.712), living in a brick type of house (AOR = 13.649; 95% CI = 3.736-49.858), owning a tap (AOR = 1.269; 95% CI = 0.277-5.809) and refuse removed by the relevant authority (AOR= 2.095; 95% CI = 0.353-12.445) were all statistically significantly associated with severe acute malnutrition (p < 0.05). Therefore, all these variables were included in the binary stepwise regression where living in a mud house type was the most significant factor and not being breastfed for at least three months was the least significant. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggested that immediate determinants to SAM were; child born with a low birth weight, appetite and child illness. Underlying contributing factors were; the child not exclusively breastfed for at least three months, growth chart not up to date, care-givers education level, employment status, alcohol consumption, household food availability, type of housing, owning a tap and number of children under the age of five year. Therefore, increasing household food security and strengthening educational interventions for women could contribute to a reduction in the prevalence of SAM in Francistown, Botswana.

Early deficits in childhood growth and development contribute to long-term problems that can persist into adulthood, including poor psychosocial wellbeing and reduced adult income. According to recent estimates, more than 200 million children worldwide fail to reach their full developmental potential. Underdevelopment is particularly widespread among children in Zambia; approximately 40% of Zambian children under five years of age are stunted due, in large part, to widespread malnutrition. It is a tremendous challenge for the public health care system in the country to address this burden. In this thesis, I investigate the capacity of rural health workers in Southern Province, Zambia to treat acute malnutrition among children under 5 years of age. Data presented in this thesis were collected from several sources. Information regarding current guidelines, trainings for treatment of acute malnutrition and supply chain for supplemental nutritious and ready-to-use therapeutic foods were collected during key informant interviews performed with nutritionists (n=4) and rural health workers (n=5) in Lusaka and Southern Province, Zambia. Nutritionists working within the health care system at the national, provincial and district levels were interviewed, as were rural health workers selected from a sample of health centers. Information on child nutrition was collected using 24-hour food recall questionnaires that were administered to mothers from a sample of households (n=215) in Southern Province. Data were analyzed with qualitative and quantitative methods. Outcomes of interest included the following: capability of rural health workers to address and treat acutely malnourished children; average daily consumption of carbohydrate, protein and fruit containing meals and snacks among infants; maternal perception of child growth and development as compared to other children of the same age; and mothers’ satisfaction with nutrition information and services provided by their local health centers. The first key finding of this study was that only 40% of rural health workers had been trained in the treatment of acute malnutrition within the last five years, while 100% of nutritionists had received training within the last two years. The second key finding was that infants six to 12 month old in the study sample were reported to have low protein and high carbohydrate consumption. On average, children consumed protein 0.75 times per day and carbohydrates 3.24 times per day. The third key finding was that mothers appeared to overestimate the development of their children. Despite the high rate of childhood stunting in the study sample (38%), 76% of mothers felt their child was the same height or taller than other children of the same age and sex, and close to 75% of mothers felt their child learned at the same speed as or quicker than other children of the same age and sex. These findings suggest that there are currently inadequate resources and capabilities within the Zambian health care system to properly manage the high rate of child malnutrition and stunting in the country. In order to have a greater effect on the reduction of stunting in children, efforts to better disseminate resources from the national level to the rural health centers for the treatment of chronic and acute malnutrition should be considered. Necessary resources include better access to trainings for rural health workers, anthropometric tools to measure levels of malnutrition and supplemental nutritious foods or ready-to-use therapeutic foods to treat children who are moderately or severely malnourished should be increased.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: Malnutrition accounted high level of childhood morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia including Durame area. Durame area is one of the food insecure districts in Southern region. As a result of high prevlanece of acute malnutrtion, which is 8.3%, Ministry of Health partnering with World Vision Ethiopia started outpatient therapeutic program (OTP) in seven OTP sites to rehablitate severely malnourished children. Reports indicate that number of factors affect the rehabilitation outcome of children with severe acute malnutrtion in OTP programs. However, there are no studies conducted to assess their contribution in the rehablitaiton outcome. Hence, this study will attempt to investigate these factors and assess their public health significance in Durame area. Aim: To assess the factors affecting the rehabilitation outcome of an OTP for children with severe acute malnutrition in Durame area, Southern Ethiopia Method: the study used a descriptive study with an analytical component. Three-hundred and sixty (360) medical records were calculated during sampling and proportional numbers of medical records were sampled from the seven OTP sites. The medical records were reviewed using semi-structured questionnaires from September 1 to September 10, 2008. The data was entered and analyzed using EPI info version 3.3.2 software. Results: three hundred fifty five (98.6%) of the total sample records were reviewed. Three hundred twenty nine (92.7%) children were cured, 11(3.8%) died, 7 (2%) defaulted and 8 (2.3%) were non-cure. Average weight gain on discharge was 3.4gm/kg/day and the mean length of stay was 55.6 days (SD+14 days). More than 60% of children were admitted in three of the seven OTP sites where Demboya OTP sites taking the larger share. Nearly half of the total children (49.8%) were between 6 to 12 months of age and the median age of admission was 13 months. The male to female ratio in the study population was almost equal. Average family size was 6.3 and 58.3% of children came from households with 6 or more family members. Forty two (11.8%) children in the study had twin. The average walking distance to the OTP sites was 62.9 minutes and two hundred fifty six mothers travelled less than an hour. Most of the children (92.1%) were referred from the community and most of the children were admitted with MUAC followed by pitting edema. One hundred seventy four (49%) of the total children were beneficiaries of GFR. On admission two hundred twenty six (63.7%) children were breastfeeding, 257 (72.4%) had no symptoms of sickness and 327 (92.1%) did not have abnormal physical examination findings. More than half (51.5%) of them did not receive any home visit and the larger share of the home visits (37.3%) were made when children got illnesses. One hundred sixteen (32.7%) children in the study had chronic medical conditions during follow up. Fever or hypothermia (0.6%), dehydration (0.8%), anemia (0.6%), skin infection (1.6%) and Plumpy nut refusal (2.0%) were the main abnormal medical findings during follow up. Assessment of the influence of the socio-demographic and biological characteristics on the rehabilitation outcome indicated that the sites, family size, chronic medical conditions, absenteeism, weight loss, presence of fever or hypothermia, dehydration and anemia had significant association with the treatment outcome (p<0.05). Further analysis for significant variables using regression analysis indicated that absenteeism, chronic medical illness, fever or hypothermia and anemia are predictor variables contributing significant information for the prediction of the treatment outcome (p<0.05). Conclusion: The program has high success rate in terms of increasing cure and decreasing death, default and non-cure rates but it did not meet the minimum international recommendations for average length of stay and average weight gain. The study identified the main socio-demographic and biological characteristics of children with SAM and factors that affect the rehabilitation outcome. Children under the age of 24 months were most affected with SAM and no gender variation. Larger proportions of malnourished children were living in families above the average family size, which had significant association with the outcome. OTP sites were accessible for majority children in the program but higher level of absenteeism which significantly associated with the outcome. The study identified socio-demographic and biological factors that influenced the rehabilitation outcome as well as the predictor variables contributing significant information for the prediction of the treatment outcome. It could assist the program implementers to design appropriate public health measures. The achievement in Durame OTP program indicates effectiveness of community based management of SAM and existing potential to integrate in routine health system in resource scarce setting like Durame. Recommendations: to sustain the achievements and improve the growth areas necessary public health measures are prime importance.

Death from hunger and starvation can be avoided with appropriate diagnosis and treatment if the necessary knowledge and resources are available. The current definitions of acute malnutrition are based either upon a weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) below -2 standard deviations of the international reference population (World Health Organization 2006 Growth Standards) or a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) lower than 125 mm. These indicators are used independently to define the sum of moderate and severe acute malnutrition, commonly referred to as global acute malnutrition (GAM). Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is defined as the children with WHZ < -3 SD or MUAC <115 mm. These cut-off points are used both to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition and also to identify those children who should be admitted for individual treatment of their acute malnutrition.However, the ramifications of the new WHO standards and the introduction of the absolute MUAC as an additional criterion have not been sufficiently explored. There appears to have been little detailed analysis of the variation of MUAC in children using these new standards. Thus, there is insufficient information available for predicting changes in patient load due to the addition of an absolute MUAC cut-off, the degree of overlap between the criteria and the factors that affect the selection of malnourished children using the two criteria, WHZ and MUACNevertheless, because of the ease of use of MUAC and strong advocacy based mainly the relative sensitivity and specificity of WHZ and MUAC in predicting long-term all-cause mortality in the community, many organizations and some governments are now moving from using MUAC to screen children in the community and elsewhere to MUAC-only programs with abandonment of using WHZ altogether.A better understanding of the relationship between these measures is important as differences can have significant implications on the decision to intervene in a nutritional crises, assessment of potential program size, resource requirements and outcome, selection of children admitted for treatment and the strategy which will have the greatest influence upon mortality and the other poor outcomes of being malnourished. To this end my thesis included the following studies which explored the variation of MUAC and WHZ in children for the assessment of malnutrition.In my first study, I examined the direction and degree of discrepancy between MUAC and WHZ of children aged 6-59 months in 1,832 anthropometric surveys from 47 countries, mainly in Africa. The results show that using MUAC or WHZ, 16.3% of children were identified with GAM and 3.5% with SAM. The proportion of overlap between the two indicators was 28.2% for GAM (15-38.5%) and 16.5 % for SAM (6.1-29.8%). Overlap for individual countries was especially low for SAM. The numbers of children diagnosed by either criterion varied dramatically by country: the difference between the relative case-load using WHZ and MUAC for GAM varied from minus 57% to plus 72%. For SAM, in four of the 38 countries, less than 25% of severely malnourished children would be identified and admitted for treatment if a MUAC-only admission policy were being used. For all countries examined, the discrepancies were not adequately explained by any single hypothesis. My second study was in three parts. Each part examined the veracity of the assertion that MUAC is a better indicator of mortality than WHZ. 1) I analysed individual data from 76,887 children admitted to a range of treatment programmes to determine the mortality rates associated with SAM. 2) I conducted an exhaustive search of the literature to identify reports of children diagnosed by WHZ or MUAC with their respective mortality rates.3) I analysed the effect of case load using the prevalence data published in the first study with Case Fatality Rates (CFRs) derived from the empirical data, the literature data and theoretical simulations. We found that mathematical coupling caused a reversal of significance generating Simpson’s paradox so that the interpretation of the relative mortality rates of WHZ and MUAC is unsafe when children with both criteria are included in each group being compared. The analysis suggests that children with SAM identified by WHZ <-3 and admitted for treatment are at as least as high a risk of death as children in treatment with MUAC<115cm and probably at higher risk. Review of 21 datasets that compared WHZ and MUAC mortality rates show problems with interpretation of the reported CFRs in each of the studies; inconsistencies greatly limit analysis, comparability and interpretation. Caseload is a more important determinant of the number of SAM related child deaths than the relative CFR to give the number of SAM attributable deaths. Where most of the children are identified as SAM using WHZ, rather than MUAC, it is estimated that fewer than half of all SAM related deaths will be identified using a MUAC-only programme.In my third study, I have conducted a Monte Carlo simulation of anthropometric surveys and imposed random errors of measurement on the data in order to examine the effect of measurement error. The results show that there is an increase in the standard deviation with each of the errors, that the spread becomes exponentially greater with the magnitude of the sort of error that occur in real life situations and that the effect of an increase in standard deviation (SD) that appears to be fairly trivial has a major effect upon the reported prevalence of the condition. I show that even within quite a narrow range of SDs (from 0.8 to 1.2) the proportion of children <-2 WHZ can increase from 6% to 15% - which would move the population from one of “acceptable” prevalence to an acute emergency situation. The corresponding SAM would increase from about 1% to nearly 5%. If one was to use such a survey to estimate the current case-load of SAM children the difference would be five-fold. However, this range of SDs is generally thought to represent a “good survey”. When larger and more complex surveys are considered, for example those included in the WHO database or the DHS surveys, the SD is frequently greater than 1.2 leading to give a higher reported prevalence of malnutrition than may be the actual prevalence. In my fourth study, I performed a secondary analysis of the surveys collected in my first study in order to examine the change in reliability of such surveys over time. I analysed the statistical distributions of the derived anthropometric parameters from 1,843 surveys conducted by 19 agencies between 1986 and 2015. The results show that with the introduction of standardised guidelines and software by 2003 and their more general application from 2007 the mean standard deviation, kurtosis and skewness of the parameters used to assess nutritional status have each moved to now approximate the distribution of the WHO standards when the exclusion of outliers from analysis is based upon the SMART flagging procedure. Where WHO flags, that only exclude data incompatible with life, are used the quality of anthropometric surveys has improved and the results now approach those seen with SMART flags and the WHO standards distribution. Agencies vary in their uptake and adherence to standard guidelines. Those agencies that fully implement the guidelines achieve the most consistently reliable results.In conclusion, well-defined and internationally accepted criteria to assess anthropometric survey quality should be universally applied and reported if the surveys are to be reliable, credible and form the basis for appropriate intervention. Using WHZ-only or MUAC-only estimates of prevalence will underestimate the burden of acute malnutrition. Such a program policy would result in between 300,000 and 600,000 SAM deaths occurring in children each year who have no possibility of being treated. WHZ and MUAC are complementary indicators, it is only by using both criteria to identify SAM and admit children for treatment that we will move towards reducing avoidable SAM- related mortality in most countries. This will only be realised when we can conveniently identify children with a low WHZ in community screening programs. / Doctorat en Sciences de la santé Publique / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Magister Public Health - MPH / The Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) is an integrated public health innovation for treating severe acute malnutrition without medical complications in children 6 to 59 months of age as outpatients within their communities using Ready to Use Therapeutic Food with the aim of reducing case fatality rates. The OTP approach is implemented in the three districts in Eastern Province of Zambia namely; Chipata, Katete and Petauke. Since inception of the OTP in the province, an evaluation of the OTP has not been conducted. The study is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of the OTP for management of severe acute malnutrition in the three districts of Eastern Province of Zambia.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Aim: This study sought to investigate service-related factors that affect uptake of HIV testing among children enrolled in CMAM. This was a descriptive study that used mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. To assess uptake of HIV testing records were reviewed of number of children tested as a percentage of number of children enrolled in CMAM over 12-month period in a sample of health facilities. Face to face in-depth interviews were conducted of CMAM and HTC focal persons to investigate factors affecting uptake. Information from interviews was analyzed using a thematic approach.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the community-based Outpatient Therapeutic Program (OTP) as a standard treatment protocol for the management of uncomplicated Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) at the community level. OTP has been scaled up and integrated into the existing grassroots level government health systems in several developing countries. The aim of this thesis was to assess the implementation and outcome of a scaled-up and integrated OTP service provided at community level. Methods: One qualitative study and three quantitative studies were conducted in southern Ethiopia. Children admitted to 94 integrated OTPs, their caregivers and health extension workers providing primary health care services in the nearby health posts were included in this study. The quantitative studies were based on data generated from observation of a cohort of 1,048 children admitted to the integrated OTPs. Result: On admission 78.8% of the children had SAM. The majority of these children 60.2% exited the program neither achieving program recovery criteria nor being transferred to inpatient care. Fourteen weeks after admission to OTP, 34.6% were severely malnourished and 34.4% were moderately malnourished, thus 69.0% were still acutely malnourished. Ready-to-use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs) provided for SAM children were commonly shared with other children in the household and sold as a commodity for the collective benefit of the family thus admitted children received only a portion of the provided amount. Further, the program suffered a severe shortage of RUTFs, where only  46.6% of admitted children were given the recommended amount of RUTFs by providers on admission and only 34.9% of these had uninterrupted provision during the follow-up. Conclusion: The integrated OTPs we studied provide a constrained service and the use of RUTFs by families is not as intended by the program. The majority of admitted children remained acutely malnourished after participating in the program for the recommended duration. For integrated OTPs to be effective in chronically food-insecure contexts, interventions that also address the economic and food needs of the entire household are essential. This may require a shift to view SAM as a symptom of broader problems affecting a family rather than as a disease of an individual child. In addition, further research is needed to understand the health system context regarding RUTFs and medication supply and service utilization of integrated OTPs.

Master of Public Health - MPH / Background: Severe acute malnutrition contributes disproportionately to child mortality rates despite availability of the WHO protocol, “Ten Steps”, to guide hospital management. Auditing morbidity and mortality rates of malnourished children at hospitals is useful to measure the effectiveness of hospital-based management compared to standards advocated by the WHO protocol. The study aimed to assess the adequacy of clinical management practices for severely malnourished children admitted to three district hospitals in the Western Cape as compared to the WHO guidelines. Objectives: To describe prognostic indicators on admission such as clinical severity of malnutrition and co-morbidities such as HIV, TB, diarrhoea and pneumonia. To assess the management practices of severe malnutrition against the key principles of management during the stabilisation phase as outlined by the WHO guidelines. To describe the number of severely malnourished children who were treated for or died due to preventable complications (hypothermia, hypoglycaemia, dehydration, over-hydration, infection, electrolyte imbalance). Methodology: A retrospective, descriptive study based on a folder review of medical records of 83 severely malnourished children admitted to the Stellenbosch, Helderberg and Eersteriver hospitals from September 2009 to June 2011 was done. viii Structured data collection was undertaken to capture data to allow assessment of the clinician’s management practices, and the adequacy thereof in implementing the first six steps of the WHO protocol guidelines. Results The predominant co-morbidities in the sample were diarrhoea in 51% ofcases and pneumonia in 33%. Thirteen percent were HIV infected, 28% of the sample had TB. Clinical signs were poorly documented by clinicians. The highest percentage of adequate management practices was for treatment of infections with 90% of patients receiving antibiotics. The second best management practice was for treatment of electrolyte and micronutrient deficiency. Hypoglycaemia and hypothermia were poorly managed as children developed these complications in the hospitals and yet these complications were still left untreated. Nineteen percent of the sample needed transfer to a specialist hospital. Conclusion The study concludes that overall management practices for children admitted with severe acute malnutrition to three district hospitals in the Western Cape was poor and often did not adhere to the WHO guidelines. Doctors showed poor understanding of the need for accurate assessment and monitoring in order to reduce the mortality risk of these patients.

Depuis plusieurs années, il s’avère de plus en plus clair que le microbiote digestif a un impact remarquable sur la santé humaine. Il est affecté par de nombreux facteurs dont l’alimentation. En effet, en fonction du macronutriment majoritaire d’un régime alimentaire, certaines populations et fonctions bactériennes sont stimulées ou inhibées. Plusieurs pathologies de l’intestin ou liées à des troubles nutritionnels ou métaboliques ont un lien causal avec une altération du microbiote digestif parmi lesquelles la malnutrition sévère aigue. En effet, il a été récemment montré que le microbiote digestif des enfants malnutris était différent et colonisé par des Proteobacteria, des Enterococci, des bacilles Gram-négatifs et des espèces pathogènes. Au cours de nos travaux, une dysbiose est également observée chez nos patients malnutris par métagénomique et par culturomics avec un enrichissement en bactéries aérobies, en Proteobacteria et en espèces potentiellement pathogènes telles que Streptococcus gallolyticus et une perte notable en bactéries anaérobies associée à une perte de la capacité antioxydante du tractus gastro-intestinal révélée par une absence totale de Methanobrevibacter smitii, archeae méthanogène et un des procaryotes les plus sensibles à l’oxygène du tractus gastro-intestinal ainsi que un potentiel redox fécal accru. De plus, une perte de la diversité globale, connue et inconnue, est observée. Enfin, par culturomics et métagénomique, nous avons établi un répertoire des bactéries manquantes chez les malnutris dont treize présentent un potentiel probiotique et pourront être testées comme probiotiques dans un modèle expérimental dans un futur proche. / For the last decade, it has become increasingly clear that the gut microbiota has a tremendous impact on human health. It is affected by several factors among which diet that has a big impact. In fact, according to the major macronutrient in a diet type, specific bacterial populations and functions are stimulated or inhibited. Several pathologies of the gut or linked to nutritional or metabolic disorders among which severe acute malnutrition are causally linked to an alteration of the diversity of the human gut microbiota. In fact, it has recently been shown by several studies that the gut microbiota of malnourished patients was different and colonized by Proteobacteria, Enterococci, Gram-negative bacilli and pathogenic species. The analysis of our data regarding the fecal microbiota of children afflicted with severe acute malnutrition from Niger and Senegal showed a dysbiosis observed through metagenomics and culturomics with an increase of aerobic bacteria, Proteobacteria and pathogenic species such as Streptococcus gallolyticus, and a depletion of anaerobic species associated with a loss of the antioxidant capacity of the gastro-intestinal tract exhibited by a total absence of Methanobrevibacter smithii, a methanogenic archaeon and one the most oxygen sensitive prokaryote of the gut microbiota alongside an increased fecal redox potential. Moreover, a loss of the overall diversity, known and unknown, was observed. Finally, through culturomics and metagenomics, we were able to identify a repertoire of missing microbes in malnourished children among which thirteen presented a probiotic potential and will be tested as such in an experimental model in the near future.