Global Acute Malnutrition

Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) is a measurement of the nutritional status of a population that is often used in protracted refugee situations.

[2] An alternative definition is that a child suffers from GAM if their weight to height ratio is less than the value at -2 standard deviations on the Z-score for the same measurement in the reference population.

[3] The World Health Organization also defines other measures of malnutrition including mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), marasmus and kwashiorkor.

[5] The U.S. State Department has set a target that less than 10% of children under five should suffer from Global Acute Malnutrition in complex humanitarian emergencies.

[6] A study by the UNHCR published in January 2006 found unacceptable GAM levels in UNHCR/WFP supported protracted refugee situations including Chad (up to 18%), Eritrea (18.9%), Ethiopia (up to 19.6%), Kenya (up to 20.6%), Sierra Leone (16%) and South Sudan (16%).