Gaza MUAC Screening Analysis
February 2024 – UPDATED MARCH 22
Jana Daher
Dr Oleg Bilukha
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smartmethodology.org
Meta-data
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Dataset | Level of data | Data collection period | Setting | Children health status | Sample size* | N (%) Children 6-23 months | N (%) Children 24-59 months |
North Gaza / Juzoor (Jan) | Individual | 2.5 weeks�Jan 14- 31 | Health centers and shelters – vaccination | Not sick | 1,549 | 1539�(99.4%) | 10�(0.6%) |
North Gaza / Juzoor (Feb) | Individual | 4 weeks�Feb 1-29 | Health centers and shelters – vaccination? | Not sick? | 1,329 | 1325�(99.7%) | 4 �(0.3%) |
Deir al Balah/ UNRWA�(Middle area) (Feb) | Individual | 3 weeks�Feb 5-10�Feb 18-25�Feb 26-Mar 4 | Health centers in Deir Al Balah incl. Nusirate refugee camp – vaccination | Not sick | 1,393 | 1393�(100.0%) | - |
Deir al Balah/ UNRWA�(Middle area) (Mar) | Individual | 1 week�Mar 5-9 | Health centers in Deir Al Balah incl. Nusirate refugee camp – vaccination | Not sick | 289 | 289�(100.0%) | - |
Khan Younis / AEI | Aggregate | Feb 22? | Shelters – screening | Not sick | 322 | 117 �(36.3%) | 205 �(63.7%) |
Rafah / UNRWA (Jan-Feb) | Individual | 6 weeks�Jan 17-Mar 4 | Health centers in Rafah – vaccination | Not sick | 2,462* | 2443�(99.2%) | 19�(0.8%) |
Rafah / UNRWA (Mar) | Individual | 1 week�Mar 5-9 | Health centers in Rafah – vaccination | Not sick | 1,712* | 932�(54.4%) | 780�(45.6%) |
Rafah / IMC (Jan-Feb) | Individual | 8 weeks�Jan 6 – Mar 4 | IMC hospital – triage | Mostly sick | 948* | 495�(52.2%) | 453�(47.8%) |
Rafah/ IMC (Mar) | Individual | 2 weeks�Mar 4 -17 | IMC hospital – triage | Mostly sick | 299* | 151�(49.8%) | 148�(48.8%) |
Rafah / MSF (Jan-Feb) | Aggregate | 3 weeks�Jan 28 – Feb 11 | Health Center – PHC activity | Some sick | 551 | 253 �(45.9%) | 298 �(54.1%) |
Rafah / MSF (Mar) | Aggregate | 2 weeks�Feb 18 – Mar 3 | Health Center – PHC activity | Some sick | 1,202 | 522�(43.4%) | 680�(56.6%) |
Rafah / AEI | Aggregate | Feb 22? | Shelters – screening | Not sick | 844 | 293 �(34.7%) | 551 �(65.3%) |
Rafah / Med Global (Feb) | Aggregate | 4 weeks �Feb 1-29 | Medical points – screening | Not sick | 7,327 | 3211�(43.8%) | 4116�(56.2%) |
Note: Important explanations are included in the comment panel below. Please review these notes to avoid misinterpreting the data.
Results – MUAC GAM prevalence
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| | UNWEIGHTED | | WEIGHTED | | ESTIMATED | ||
Dataset | N & Health status | GAM MUAC 6-59 months | GAM MUAC�6-23 months | GAM MUAC�24-59 months | Ratio | GAM MUAC 6-59 months | IPC AMN PHASE | Projected GAM WHZ 6-59 months |
North Gaza / Juzoor (Jan) | 1,536�Not sick | – | 16.02% | 1.60 – 5.34 | | 6.41 – 8.90 | 2-3 | 10-13% |
North Gaza / Juzoor (Feb) | 1,323�Not sick? | – | 29.25% | 2.93 – 9.75 | | 11.70 – 16.25 | 4 | 16-25% |
Deir al Balah/ UNRWA�(Middle area) (Feb) | 1,392�Not sick | – | 4.67 % | 0.47 – 1.56 | | 1.87 – 2.60 | 1-2 | 3-5% |
Deir al Balah/ UNRWA�(Middle area) (Mar) | 289�Not sick | – | 11.46% | 1.15 – 3.82 | | 4.59 – 6.37 | 2 | 5-8% |
Khan Younis / AEI | 322�Not sick | 12.73% | 28.21% | 3.90% | 7.23 | 12.00% | 3-4 | 14-18% |
Rafah / UNRWA (Jan-Feb) | 2,434�Not sick | – | 8.01% | 0.80 – 2.67 | | 3.20 – 4.45 | 1-2 | 4-6% |
Rafah / UNRWA (Mar) | 1,705�Not sick | 4.46% | 6.67% | 1.80% | 3.71 | 3.42% | 1-2 | 4-6% |
Rafah / IMC (Jan-Feb) | 939�Mostly sick | 7.35% | 12.45% | 1.78 % | 6.99 | 5.33% | 2 | 5-7% |
Rafah/IMC (Mar) | 296�Mostly sick | 5.74% | 10.74% | 0.68% | 15.79 | 4.03% | 1-2 | 4-6% |
Rafah / MSF (Jan-Feb) | 551�Some sick | 11.80% | 18.58% | 6.04% | 3.07 | 10.22% | 3 | 12-15% |
Rafah / MSF (Mar) | 1,202�Some sick | 2.91% | 5.75% | 0.74% | 7.77 | 2.41% | 1-2 | 3-6% |
Rafah / AEI | 844�Not sick | 5.09% | 12.29% | 1.27% | 9.68 | 4.94% | 2 | 5-7% |
Rafah / Med Global (Feb) | 7,327�Not sick | 4.37% | 7.32% | 2.07% | 3.54 | 3.82% | 1-2 | 4-7% |
Note: Important explanations are included in the comment panel below. Please review these notes to avoid misinterpreting the data.
Results – MUACZ GAM prevalence
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| | UNWEIGHTED | | WEIGHTED | ESTIMATED | ||
Dataset | N & Health Status | GAM MUACZ 6-59 months | GAM MUACZ� 6-23 months | GAM MUACZ�24-59 months | Ratio | GAM MUACZ 6-59 months | Projected GAM WHZ 6-59 months |
North Gaza / Juzoor (Jan) | 1,536�Not sick | – | 15.69% | 3.92 – 15.69 | | 7.84 – 15.69 | 10-13% |
North Gaza / Juzoor (Feb) | 1,323�Not sick? | – | 30.76% | 7.69 – 30.76 | | 15.38 – 30.76 | 16-25% |
Deir al Balah/ UNRWA�(Middle area) (Feb) | 1,392�Not sick | – | 5.75% | 1.44 – 5.75 | | 2.88 – 5.75 | 3-5% |
Deir al Balah/ UNRWA�(Middle area) (Mar) | 289�Not sick | – | 8.68% | 2.17 – 8.68 | | 4.34 – 8.68 | 5-8% |
Rafah / UNRWA (Jan-Feb) | 2,434�Not sick | – | 6.20% | 1.55 – 6.20 | | 3.10 – 6.20 | 4-6% |
Rafah / UNRWA (Mar) | 1,705�Not sick | 5.75% | 5.60% | 5.93% | 0.94 | 5.82% | 4-6% |
Rafah / IMC (Jan-Feb) | 939�Mostly sick | 8.31% | 11.43% | 4.90% | 2.33 | 7.07% | 5-7% |
Rafah/IMC (Mar) | 296�Mostly sick | 5.41% | 8.72% | 2.04% | 4.27 | 4.27% | 4-6% |
Note: Important explanations are included in the comment panel below. Please review these notes to avoid misinterpreting the data.
Results – MUAC SAM prevalence
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| | UNWEIGHTED | WEIGHTED | ||
Dataset | N & Health status | SAM MUAC 6-59 months | SAM MUAC�6-23 months | SAM MUAC�24-59 months | SAM MUAC 6-59 months |
North Gaza / Juzoor (Jan) | 1,536�Not sick | – | 2.41% | – | – |
North Gaza / Juzoor (Feb) | 1,323�Not sick? | – | 4.46% | – | – |
Deir al Balah/ UNRWA�(Middle area) (Feb) | 1,392�Not sick | – | 1.01% | – | – |
Deir al Balah/ UNRWA�(Middle area) (Mar) | 289�Not sick | – | 1.39% | – | – |
Khan Younis / AEI | 322�Not sick | 4.35% | 10.26% | 0.98% | 4.07% |
Rafah / UNRWA (Jan-Feb) | 2,434�Not sick | – | 1.56% | – | – |
Rafah / UNRWA (Mar) | 1,705�Not sick | 0.59% | 1.08% | 0.00% | |
Rafah / IMC (Jan-Feb) | 939�Mostly sick | 2.34% | 4.29% | 0.22% | 1.58% |
Rafah/IMC (Mar) | 296�Mostly sick | 1.69% | 3.36% | 0.00% | 1.12% |
Rafah / MSF (Jan-Feb) | 551�Some sick | 1.27% | 2.77% | 0.00% | 0.92% |
Rafah / MSF (Mar) | 1,202�Some sick | 0.33% | 0.77% | 0.00% | 0.26% |
Rafah / AEI | 844�Not sick | 0.95% | 2.39% | 0.18% | 0.92% |
Rafah / Med Global (Feb) | 7,327�Not sick | 0.90% | 1.71% | 0.27% | 0.75% |
Note: Important explanations are included in the comment panel below. Please review these notes to avoid misinterpreting the data.
Data Quality
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Dataset | Mean MUACZ | SD MUACZ | % Flags MUACZ (+/- 4sd) | DPS MUAC |
North Gaza / Juzoor (Jan) | -0.93 | 1.08 | 0.2% | 64 |
North Gaza / Juzoor (Feb) | -1.40 | 1.09 | 0.2% | 67 |
Deir al Balah/ UNRWA�(Middle area) (Feb) | -0.50 | 0.95 | 0.1% | 31 |
Deir al Balah/ UNRWA�(Middle area) (Mar) | -0.51 | 0.99 | 0.3% | 28 |
Rafah / UNRWA (Jan-Feb) | -0.21 | 1.05 | 0.4% | 57 |
Rafah / UNRWA (Mar) | -0.25 | 1.10 | 0.4% | 28 |
Rafah / IMC (Jan-Feb) | -0.26 | 1.22 | 0.9% | 60 |
Rafah / IMC (Mar) | -0.09 | 1.17 | 1.0% | 56 |
Note: Acceptable ranges for standard deviation, percentage flags and digit preference score are as follows:
Empirical Evidence �Concordance between MUAC, MUACZ and WHZ
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Excluded Datasets
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THANK YOU!
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