Title:	Undernutrition and Food Security
Keywords:	Vulnerable groups Nutrition
Country:	Spain
Institution:	Spain - Barcelona Institute for Global Health - University of Barcelona
Course coordinator:	Victòria Fumadó Jorge Salamanca
Date start:	2025-02-18
Date end:	2025-02-27
About duration and dates:	Starts: Monday, 15/03/2021 Ends: Wednesday, 25/03/2021
Classification:	advanced optional
Mode of delivery:	Face to face
Course location: University of Barcelona Faculty of Medicine (room to be confirmed) C/ Casanova, 143 08036 Barcelona, Spain
ECTS credit points:	3 ECTS credits
SIT: 75 hours SIT - Hours of independent study (not face to face, tutored and not tutored): 47 h - Hours of face to face sessions in class: 28 hours
Language:	English
Description: At the end of the module the student should be able to: 1 - Identify, assess and apply the necessary tools to address specific food security and nutritional needs in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), as well as in conflict and insecure contexts. 2 – Appraise different forms of undernutrition, its causes, and how to target the most vulnerable population groups 3 - Develop solutions for nutrition and food security in LMIC and other crisis contexts.
Assessment Procedures: The evaluation will be assessed both individually and group-based. The final grade will be calculated considering the following assessment activities and according to the rubric in Annex 1: 1. Individual participation in class (25%) Students are expected to be proactive in the classroom, raising and answering questions, expressing opinions, giving examples and engaging in debates. Participation will be assessed by teachers with a score 0-10. 2. Final Test Exam (25%): Students are expected to pass a final test exam (multiple choice) with 20 questions (0.5 points per correct answer) about the topics, concepts and elements discussed in class. A minimum of 10 correct answers is required to pass the test. 3. Group work development and presentation through continuous evaluation (50%): At the beginning of the course, we will provide a case study to the students. This case study will start from the general base situation in one specific country, and will include a food insecurity situation and a nutritional crisis. This case will be developed along the course with tutoring from course facilitators. The students should identify, assess and apply the necessary tools to address the specific food security and nutritional situation. Students will develop the case in small groups and the last day of class they will conduct an oral presentation of maximum 10 minutes, providing at the same time a written summary (no more than 3 pages). Presentations will be graded from 0 to 10. The final grade is the combination of the grades of the three assessment activities, they have to be passed independently and their grades do not compensate. Resit: Students that fail will be given the opportunity to individually develop and present a different practice exercise in one month consisting of a new case study with at least 5 questions including skills and contents developed during the course. To pass the Resit students should at least answer correctly 3 out of 5 questions, with the correct calculation of an indicator explained in class or with the reasoned answer in a paragraph to a problem in the context of the case study.
Content: 1. Introduction to the course and overview. Review the concepts of undernutrition, definition and types, hidden undernutrition, and methods for anthropometric measures (previous reading needed). ● Analysis of the malnutrition casual tree, nutritional problems throughout the life cycle and the casual framework of undernutrition causes. ● Undernutrition in the world, evolution and main trends. Achievement of MDGs and Post-2015 (SDGs) agenda related to undernutrition. 2. Micronutrients and vitamins deficiency ● Effects of micronutrients deficiency and vitamins ● Development of strategies at community level 3. Undernutrition and infection ● Relation between infection and nutritional status. ● How to develop a good intervention with useful tools and elaborate action points. 4. Undernutrition and vulnerable groups ● HIV and nutrition: - Challenges in the management of HIV infected undernourished patients. - How HIV alters the clinical presentation of undernutrition. ● Reproductive health and nutrition - Prevalence and consequences of maternal and child undernutrition in Low- and Middle-Income Countries - Analysis of the framework for actions to achieve optimal maternal, foetal and child nutrition and development. 5. Food Security and Nutrition. ● The concept of Food Security (previous reading needed): - From food availability to the right to food - Food security and Undernutrition (including WASH) ● Measuring and analysing food security or insecurity: - Food Security key documents (SOFI, VAM – WFP) - Analysing some Proxy indicators: Coping mechanism ● A quick view of the food security situation: The state of Food Insecurity in the World 2014: - Main trends, causes and consequences - Agenda Post 2015 – SDG (SOFI) 6. Typology of Food Crisis ● Typology of Food Crisis: - Types of food insecurity - Early warning systems, - IPC as a key agreement on triggers ● Needs assessment: - Dimensions to be analysed - Deciding the interventions - Household Economy Approach (HEA) 7. Food Security Response (I) ● Responses to Food Crisis: - Road Map to Response Analysis - Assessing the needs - Dimensions to be analysed ● Minimum Standards (Sphere Project) ● Food Distribution 8. Food Security Response (II) ● Cash Initiatives. ● WASH and food security related to nutrition 9. Rapid Nutrition assessment ● What is a Nutrition Rapid Assessment and how to conduct them ● The stage of food security to support the Intervention criteria 10. Nutrition Strategies (part I): ● Different types of nutrition strategies ● Strategies in adequacy with the context ● Advantages and constraints of each programme ● Different products and how to calculate a ration ● A practical seminar will be held that will consist of setting up a camp, as it is done in the field and equipping it with the intention of providing drinking water and food to the population in crisis, performing nutritional diagnosis 11. Nutrition Strategies (part II): ● Diagnoses and types of malnutrition ● Different types of therapeutic nutritional strategies ● Election of programme depending on the type of undernutrition 12. International response to nutrition crises: ● How nutrition crises are detected and how the international response is activated through a case example 13. Final Presentation Tutorial Session 14. Final Presentation – Evaluations
Methods: The learning methods combine individual readings, class presentation, debates in class about certain subjects and one practical exercise based in real context to be developed during the course: ● Individual readings: At least 40 minutes per document (maximum 2 mandatory readings before the main topics addressed in every block of the course) to address the main concepts that will be explained and discuss during the class. Example of mandatory reading related to nutrition: Maternal and child nutrition: building momentum for impact http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(13)60988-5.pdf ● Class presentations and debates: During the face-to-face sessions the professor will conduct oral and written presentations to illustrate the main concepts, and to propose debates about trends, solutions or tools to solve nutritional and food security problems. ● Practical Exercise based on case study: 100% related with the concepts and elements explained during the face-to-face classes, this exercise develops a real context, with food insecurity and a vulnerable situation that turns into an undernutrition crisis. The students should be able to assess the situation, to identify the right tools needed to make the assessment and to propose solutions. Example of practical Exercise: See Annex 2.
Prerequisites: tropEd candidates must accredit an English language level TOEFL test 550 or 213 computer-based or 79/80 internet-based or IELTS band 6.0 or equivalent.
Attendance: Maximum of 35 students per course
Selection: First come first served
Fees: 525 € plus 90 € university taxes
Scholarships: Not available
Major changes since initial accreditation: No major changes since the last accreditation
Student evaluation: This course has been consistently highly scored by students in the anonymous feedback: last academic year score was 4.7 out of 5. They highly valued the content, the methodology and the assessment methods.
Lessons learned: Courses that include many practical sessions and interactions are highly appreciated by students.
tropEd accreditation: Accredited in Yogyakarta in February 2016. Re-Accredited in March 2021 (this accreditation is valid until March 2026)
Remarks: N/A
Email Address:	nuria.casamitjana@isglobal.org
Date Of Record Creation:	2016-03-13 18:45:17 (W3C-DTF)
Date Of Record Release:	2016-03-13 22:47:49 (W3C-DTF)
Date Record Checked:	2021-03-18 (W3C-DTF)
Date Last Modified:	2024-06-11 10:25:04 (W3C-DTF)