**3. HIV infection and malnutrition in children**

The cooccurrence of HIV and malnutrition together increases comorbidities and mortality in affected individuals [15]. Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is of particular concern in children with HIV [1]. SAM is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a weight-for-height z-score of less than −3, or a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) of less than 11.5 cm in children aged 6 months to 5 years. It can present as either marasmus (protein energy malnutrition nonedematous), kwashiorkor (edematous disease), or as marasmic-kwashiorkor. However, marasmus is seen more commonly in HIV-positive children. Although the prevalence of children with HIV and severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is variable, mortality from SAM is more than three times higher in HIV-positive children than HIV-negative children. In addition, they have a higher risk of infectious comorbidities and complications [15–17]. Nine out of 10 studies on HIV-infected children, conducted in countries with limited food resources, described low height for age, and all 10 studies reported poor weight gain. Such malnutrition was described under several forms:

