A Relational Approach to the Drivers of Child Acute Malnutrition.

BACKGROUND: This article presents a new analytical approach to acute malnutrition causal analysis that is different from the orthodox approach in 2 respects. First, it engages with basic causes, that is, beyond the usual focus on individuals and households. Second, it uses a relational view in the causal analysis. The orthodox approach identifies the malnourished and their individual and household characteristics. In contrast, a relational approach explores the ways in which the relationships between people, their livelihoods, and the environment, mediated by systems and institutions, create the underlying drivers associated with acute malnutrition for some, while simultaneously creating better conditions for others. METHODS: The article draws on 2 case study communities in West Darfur, Sudan, first considering the Darfur context and the inequitable policies and weakened institutions that have led to ethnic polarization, multilayered conflict, and humanitarian crises. The article explores how this context has played out differently in each community, contrasting their livelihood specializations, conflict-related losses, and livelihood diversification over time. FINDINGS: This analysis shows how the relative vulnerability of some people versus others is strongly influenced by their social, economic, and political relationships, as reflected in their shifting power relations and uneven control over livelihood resources. CONCLUSIONS: Shifting the focus to the basic drivers, especially the institutional structures, processes, and relationships, will deepen the causal analysis of child acute malnutrition, make it more meaningful, and provide a new direction for engagement, learning, and action to address the deepening problem of child acute malnutrition.

Plain language titleA Relational Approach to the Drivers of Acute MalnutritionPlain language summaryThis article introduces a new approach to understanding the causes of child acute malnutrition that differs from the traditional methods in 2 key ways. First, it goes beyond focusing solely on individuals and households by examining the underlying and basic causes. Secondly, it adopts a relational perspective in analyzing the causes. The traditional approach to studying the causes of acute malnutrition identifies malnourished individuals and examines their personal and household characteristics. In contrast, the relational approach looks at how the connections between people, their livelihoods, and the environment, influenced by systems and institutions, contribute to the development of acute malnutrition while also creating better conditions for some others. To illustrate this approach, the article presents findings from 2 communities in West Darfur, Sudan. It examines the Darfur context, including the policy and institutional context that has contributed to ethnic polarization and multiple conflicts and led to humanitarian crises. The article compares these 2 communities, focusing on their livelihood specializations, losses related to conflict, and changes in livelihood strategies over time. The article argues that by concentrating on the basic drivers of acute malnutrition, particularly the institutional structures, processes, and relationships, we can gain a deeper understanding of the issue. This approach can make the analysis of child acute malnutrition more meaningful and provide new insights for addressing this pressing problem.

Exploring Drivers of Forest Degradation and Fragmentation in Sudan: The Case of Erawashda Forest and its Surrounding Community.

Sudan is a hot spot for forest degradation. Efforts to maintain what remains of its forests should be of the highest priority. However, precise information on its forests' current state is very limited. Therefore, in order to effectively intervene in support of existing resources, it is important to have a better understanding of processes taking place in the country and impacting those resources. The objectives of this study are to quantify the consequences of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on forest degradation and fragmentation and to analyze the anthropogenic factors causing it, taking Erawashda Forest, eastern Sudan, as an example. The study utilized a series of Landsat imageries, field surveys and interviews with informants to analyze the decrease in forest cover. The years between 1973 and 2015 saw a 16.9% and 5.4% increase in bare land and large-scale mechanized agriculture respectively. During the same period there was a 37% decrease in dense forest cover and a 20% increase in light forest cover. The trajectory analysis showed that all LULC categories are subjected to very rapid changes from one class to another throughout the period of the study and the most dynamic class is light forest cover. Computed fragmentation indices showed that large core is the dominant category. Key informants identified the main factors of degradation and fragmentation as the expansion of mechanized rain-fed agriculture, felling of trees and wood cutting, bad grazing activities, and construction of infrastructure. Information garnered from this study can provide a good basis for forest rehabilitation programs and can also be used for developing proper management plans that take into account the needs of the communities utilizing the forest.