Reaching conflict-affected women and children with health and nutrition interventions

Meeting the health and nutritional needs of women and children is particularly difficult in conflict settings due to violence and insecurity faced by both care seekers and providers. Recognising the devastating effects of conflict on women and children, this collection of systematic reviews provides evidence on the delivery of interventions to conflict-affected women and children, and an assessment of the publicly available guidance for promoting health and nutrition.

The articles are written by authors from The BRANCH Consortium (Bridging Research & Action in Conflict Settings for the Health of Women & Children), an academic research enterprise aimed at improving evidence and guidance for effective action on women’s and children’s health and nutrition in conflict settings. Taken together, the articles underscore the stark reality for conflict-affected women and children. They need a far broader range of health and nutrition interventions delivered across a wider range of care levels and displacement settings than the global humanitarian health response has so far managed to mobilise.

Open Access fees for this collection of articles were paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Research funding support is listed in each article. The editors of The BMJ, BMJ Open and BMJ Global Health peer reviewed, edited, and made the decision to publish the articles.