This innovative combined MUAC tape for mothers and infants has the potential to be a transformative tool for MIYCN programs. Exciting to see UNICEF leading such a practical solution that can strengthen community-level nutrition screening and enable timely interventions.

𝗜𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝟰𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝟱 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯), 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲-𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲. In today’s global nutrition crisis, #MUAC tapes are simple yet powerful devices that save lives. Pilots have proven their effectiveness, but to truly protect infants and mothers, MUAC needs to be integrated nationwide. Quick reflection from India and Bangladesh experience, 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 supply chain issues, training gaps, policy alignment delays, and funding constraints. Without broader adoption, progress remains limited and fragile. With scale, MUAC can reshape how countries fight malnutrition. It's great opportunity to integrate with #MICS round7. Let’s move from innovation to impact—together.

Head circumference measurement may look simple, but it’s a powerful tool for tracking early brain growth. Using a non-stretch tape, health workers can spot risks like microcephaly or hydrocephalus early and ensure timely referrals. Small steps like this make a big difference in supporting every child’s right to healthy development.

✌𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓼𝓽, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓿𝓾𝓵𝓷𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮—𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝔀✌ UNICEF’s new 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫–𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐔𝐀𝐂 𝐭𝐚𝐩𝐞 enables quick, reliable screening for 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝟲 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬–𝟲 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬, complementing the existing MUAC for 𝟲–𝟱𝟵 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬. Piloted across 𝟭𝟰 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀🌍, it links 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in one simple tool. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 ✍ : 👉 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 = 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀: Identifies wasting risks 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 6 months, when growth and brain development are most rapid. 👉 𝗗𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽: Screens 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀, 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘅𝘆, and 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀, because mother–infant health is inseparable. 👉 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲-𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆: Low-cost, portable, and easy to use by 𝗛𝗪𝘀 in clinics/outreaches, 𝗖𝗛𝗪𝘀 in the community/hard-to-reach settings, and by 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 at home. 👉 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗿: Improves targeting, referral, and follow-up; strengthens data for 𝗜𝗬𝗖𝗙, 𝗠𝗜𝗬𝗖𝗡, 𝗜𝗠𝗡𝗖𝗜, and 𝗖𝗠𝗔𝗠/𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗠 programs. 👉 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁: Helps close the gap for newborns and young infants often missed by routine screening. 🙏 Kudos to UNICEF Supply for the innovation, the World Health Organization for the guidance, and partners for pushing innovation that saves lives where it counts most. Watch the 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 to see how it works. 👇 #ChildNutrition #MaternalHealth #EarlyDetection #CommunityHealth #UNICEFInnovation #WHOGuidance

📢 New tool announcement! The Mother-Infant MUAC tape I remember when I was working with MSF and we had started an emergency project outside a city that had been under siege, mobile trauma operating theatres were set up. But when the patients could finally come, we had a big shock/surprise: it wasn't trauma patients in their hoards, it was malnourished infants less than 6 months old and their very stressed and distraught mothers. Why weren't we prepared for this? We had done a rapid nutrition assessment as part of the overall needs assessment, but that uses mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and assessing for oedema, and MUAC at that time was only for children 6 months old to 5 years. The infants had been hidden, forgotten, not measured. So what's new? ✅ New #WHO guidance on using MUAC for infants 6 weeks to 6 months old to identify them as 'at risk of poor growth and development' (which I was proud to be part of steering this work) ✅ New emphasis in the #WHO acute malnutrition guideline to care for mothers and infants as an interdependent unit - care for both, always. ✅ #UNICEF developing a new MUAC tape that not only can be used to measure the infant's arm, but also the mother's nutritional status ✅ Making the tape long enough to be able measure HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE as the new #WHO guidance also proposes neurodevelopmental concerns as another criterion to identify these at risk infants. This MUAC tape started life about 10 years ago from a design by Mark Myatt and MSF UK. I have watched many iterations, passionate debates and now with this new UNICEF tape being piloted in 14 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, my main takeaway is that we will never have a tape that is perfect in everyone's eyes! 😆 But let's get on using this one, taking a risk-based approach and finding and caring for these infants and their mothers however we can. And thanks as ever to my partner in crime Louise Enevoldsen and Fady Mansour and his wonderful team for this video.

UNICEF has expanded its malnutrition screening tools by creating a specialized MUAC tape for infants as young as 6 weeks up to 6 months old. This new tool builds on the current practice of using MUAC tapes for children aged 6 months to 5 years, enabling earlier detection and intervention! Watch the below video to learn more about this tool.

🧬 CMV Detection in Children: The Power of Saliva-Based Testing A major study led by UMass Chan Medical School and Moderna Therapeutics has shown that saliva-based testing can revolutionise how we detect cytomegalovirus (CMV) in children — and Oasis Micro-SAL™ collection devices played a key role. ✅ 90.6% detection rate for CMV DNA ✅ Non-invasive, child-friendly sampling ✅ Digital PCR sensitivity down to 20 genome copies ✅ Real-world tested in childcare settings ✅ Cost-effective for population-wide screening Why does this matter ? CMV is a leading cause of birth defects and neurodevelopmental issues. Early detection in children, the primary transmitters, is critical for protecting pregnant women and vulnerable populations. 💡 The Micro-SAL™ device enabled stress-free, high-yield saliva collection from infants and toddlers, proving ideal for both clinical research and public health surveillance. 🔬 This research lays the groundwork for evidence-based prevention strategies and future vaccine development. 📖 Learn more about the study:  👉 CMV TransmIT Study https://lnkd.in/eW8iBwh2

In the advance toward better CMV prevention, saliva-based testing stands out as a positive tool combining scientific rigour with practical accessibility, exactly what's needed to protect our most vulnerable populations. This research from the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and ModernaTX reveals why saliva-based testing can revolutionise cytomegalovirus (CMV) detection in children with significant implications for preventing birth defects worldwide. #saliva

Making health information accessible for everyone*! 🍎🧠 A lack of access to health in British Sign Language (BSL) can lead to many barriers such as misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment or missed appointments. Too often, D/deaf women (particularly BSL users) are left without the knowledge they need to make informed choices about their own health and wellbeing. We will be working hard to build up our Information Library to share even more information that is reliable, accessible and can encourage people to feel confident when making their own health choices! 💪 Visit our Information Library https://lnkd.in/e5WVgkZ7 Proudly made in partnership with some brilliant organisations Wellbeing of Women, SignHealth, My Menopause Centre ,Self Help UK (Deaf Cancer Support) and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Thank you all for your input, we couldn't have done it without you! *All videos contain BSL, English subtitles and English voiceover.

Syphilis cases are rising in South Africa. In 2023, over 1,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis, a notable increase from just 373 cases in 2020. Our new study looks at how clinic records compare with laboratory-confirmed results to understand where gaps in detection and treatment occur. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gVMBAQjK