Every Child Fed | Malnutrition Challenge

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) affects more than 20 million children under five at any given time.

More than chronic hunger, SAM is the most dangerous form of malnutrition and requires immediate treatment. Children with SAM have a very low weight to height ratio and can appear extremely skinny, known as “marasmus”, or very swollen, known as “kwashiorkor”. These children are at a high risk of reduced physical and mental development, brain damage and death if they do not receive proper medical treatment.

Africa is home to the largest percentage of SAM in the world.

The "RUTF" Solution

Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) is a high-energy, fortified, ready-to-eat food suitable for home-based treatment of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM). RUTF administered at home has a 95% effectiveness rate in curing SAM.

Before RUTF was developed in the 1990s, the only option for SAM treatment was provided in hospitals. This required parents to leave their homes, farms or businesses for extended periods to bring their child to a healthcare facility far from home. While at overcrowded and under-funded hospitals, children have a very high rate of acquiring new infections that further decrease their chance of survival. Even in the best hospitals, recovery rates averaged only 45%.

There are significant advantages to RUTF:

Parents can give their malnourished child RUTF at home – a medical setting is not necessary. That means women, who are the primary caregivers, can continue to work and care for their other family members.
No refrigeration, heating or water is necessary – RUTF is ready to eat from the packet. This is a significant advantage in areas where electricity, firewood and clean water are scarce.
RUTF has a shelf life of two years in extreme weather conditions – so it can be stored and shipped under adverse conditions
Children seem to really like it

Most importantly, RUTF has a 95% recovery rate when used as a home-based treatment vs. 45% when the child is hospitalized.

RUTF is used in over 50 countries and is endorsed as the international standard of treatment for SAM by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Program (WFP), and the UN System Standing Committee on Nutrition.