Therapeutic food for treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)
Severe acute malnutrition remains a major killer of children under five years of age.
In the past, children with severe acute malnutrition were treated in health facilities as in-patients, greatly limiting coverage and impact. However, the majority of children can be treated in the community: “The community-based approach involved timely detection of severe acute malnutrition in the community and provision of treatment for those without medical complications with ready-to-use therapeutic foods or other nutrient-dense foods at home. If properly combined with a facility-based approach for those malnourished children with medical complications and implemented on a large scale, community-based management of severe acute malnutrition could prevent the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children.” (WHO, WFP, UNSCN & UNICEF, 2007).
Community-based management of severe acute malnutrition
An important principle of community-based management of severe acute malnutrition is early detection. This, combined with decentralised treatment, enables management of the condition before the onset of life-threatening complications.
Affected children are easily identified by community health workers using a simple measure of the mid-upper arm circumference. Identified children are then assessed by a health worker to determine whether they require in-patient care or can be treated in the community.
Ready-to-use therapeutic foods
Around 80 % of children who are identified through active case finding can be treated in the community. These children are fed ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) until they have gained enough weight. RUTFs are palatable foods with high energy content and a nutrient composition to support weight gain and catch-up growth. The composition is similar to F100 milks, but RUTFs are not water-based, meaning that bacteria cannot grow in the product, and can be stored without refrigeration.
GC Rieber Compact manufactures two types of RUTF:
BP-100™, compressed RUTF with a long shelf life
eeZeePaste NUT™, a lipid-based RUTF
Reference:
WHO, WFP, UNSSCN & UNICEF 2007. Community-based management of severe acute malnutrition. A joint statement by the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
