Nutrient sachets may boost vaccination rates in rural africa

NCT ID NCT07592260

Prevention Sponsor: Alliance for International Medical Action Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study in Chad and Niger tests whether giving a small, nutrient-packed food supplement (SQ-LNS) to children aged 6 to 11 months can encourage families to complete routine vaccinations. Around 20,000 children will receive the supplement until they are 18 months old, and researchers will compare vaccination rates to areas without the program. The goal is to break the cycle of malnutrition and infectious disease by improving both nutrition and immunization coverage.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: small quantity lipid-based nutritional supplement (SQ-LNS)
What this could lead to: If successful, this approach could provide a simple, low-cost way to boost childhood vaccination coverage and reduce severe malnutrition in vulnerable communities.
What could go wrong: This is a large but early-stage field study; real-world challenges like supply chains, community acceptance, and measuring true vaccination impact may limit results.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 20,000 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

May 2025

Expected to finish

Dec 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

6 to 59 months

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * All non-malnourished children between 6 and 12 months of age will be eligible for SQ-LNS supplementation until they reach 18 months of age. For the annual household surveys, * Children aged 6 to 59 months will be surveyed on MUAC status and other malnutrition-related issues, while the immunization analysis will focus on children aged 12 to 23 months; * With the informed oral consent of the parents or legal guardian ; * Reside in the neighborhoods included in the study. For the mixed-methods process evaluation and gender sub-study (to be carried out in the months following implementation). Inclusion criteria * OptiMAx intervention personnel (e.g. healthcare staff) * A group of mothers of children benefiting from the intervention * Male partners/spouses of parents * Community members from the sites targeted by the intervention will be recruited for the focus groups. * Non-adherents or parents who choose not to continue nutritional supplementation and/or vaccination despite their availability under the program will be recruited for interviews. * Husbands/male partners of non-members will also be surveyed. Exclusion Criteria: * Age-eligible children with MUAC \<125 or edema will first be treated for acute malnutrition with OptiMA and then resume supplementation with SQ-LNS. There is no exclusion criteria for the annual household surveys Exclusion criteria for the mixed-methods process evaluation \- Parents or guardians under 15 years of age.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

nutritional deficiency disease protein-energy malnutrition

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Malnutrition severe Vaccination

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

2 sites in 2 countries. The list below names each one and where it is.
The official record

ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

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A doctor treating you

A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Nutrient sachets may boost vaccination rates in rural africa

What the study statuses mean