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To the Editor: In November 2001 the possibility of widespread malnutrition was reported in Ghor province, Afghanistan, particularly in the Chaghcharan district,¹ which had received no external assistance for 3 months. We performed a rapid health assessment in Chaghcharan town in December 2001 to assess general mortality and acute malnutrition among children younger than 5 years.²

Methods

An initial mapping estimated the population at 6600. Considering that children aged between 6 and 59 months represent 17.5% of the total population, we estimated our target population to be composed of 1155 children. The sample size of children aged between 6 and 59 months was calculated according to an expected prevalence of malnutrition of 15%, a precision of 3%, and an error risk of 5%, which resulted in a sample size of 544 children. The sample and target population size allowed a correction factor leading to a smaller sample size of 370 children. . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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