The OptiMA trials: research coordinated from Bordeaux to improve the management of acute malnutrition in children
RetourCoordinated by the Global Health in the Global South (GHiGS) team at Bordeaux Population Health Center, the OptiMA clinical trials aim to improve and simplify the management of acute malnutrition in children in highly constrained humanitarian settings. The trial is led by Renaud Becquet, Inserm Research Director and Principal Investigator, with the support of Maguy Daures, who is responsible for the scientific coordination of the trial conducted in Niger
Explication de la randomisation individuelle aux parents d’une enfant incluse dans l’essai clinique OptiMA-RDC.
© Renaud Becquet, Kamonia, RDC
Implemented in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Niger, this randomized clinical trial evaluates an innovative strategy for the management of acute malnutrition in children, whether moderate or severe.
This approach is based on the use of a single ready-to-use therapeutic food for all malnourished children, administered with a progressively decreasing dosage adjusted to the child’s clinical and nutritional recovery.
The objective is to assess whether this unified strategy can achieve outcomes comparable to standard protocols in terms of recovery, survival, and relapse prevention, while simplifying care and facilitating implementation in contexts marked by insecurity, logistical constraints, and fragile health systems.
This approach is based on the use of a single ready-to-use therapeutic food for all malnourished children, administered with a progressively decreasing dosage adjusted to the child’s clinical and nutritional recovery.
The objective is to assess whether this unified strategy can achieve outcomes comparable to standard protocols in terms of recovery, survival, and relapse prevention, while simplifying care and facilitating implementation in contexts marked by insecurity, logistical constraints, and fragile health systems.
From Bordeaux, the GHiGS team provides the scientific coordination and methodological engineering of the trial, in close collaboration with the humanitarian NGO ALIMA, the PRISME-CI research platform, and numerous local partners.
Particular attention is given to dialogue with communities, informing families, explaining research protocols, and ensuring the acceptability of the clinical trial in the field.
Particular attention is given to dialogue with communities, informing families, explaining research protocols, and ensuring the acceptability of the clinical trial in the field.
Following the publication of scientific papers arising from the OptiMA trial in 2023 on our website—particularly in The Lancet Global Health and eClinicalMedicine—Inserm published, on 8 January 2026, a synthesis article reviewing the experience of these trials, the challenges encountered, and their contribution to the evolution of policies for the management of childhood malnutrition.
Read the full article on the Inserm website