East Africa and the Sahel’s drylands present a unique context for implementation. Regime instability, climate change, and shifts in traditional pastoral ways of life mean that stakeholders need a new way to view these regions. This brief examines and expands upon UNICEF’s malnutrition causal framework to respond to these changing circumstances. The new framework captures how climate and conflict are essential in gauging the underlying causes of malnutrition in the region. An accompanying webinar provides further detail.