Toddler Food Partners (TFP) focuses on the manufacturing process of a therapeutic food that helps prevent and treat severe malnourishment in children in developing countries. Their key role is selecting and obtaining the necessary equipment to manufacture the food on site. TFP, an all-volunteer organization, works with partner organizations that already have established sites in the developing world. All donations support the evaluation, design, selection, modification, assembly, acquisition, installation and support of equipment.
The Problem: Severe Acute Malnutrition
Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) exists in many parts of the developing world. Not only does it affect the individual malnourished child but entire generations of children may grow up with reduced mental capacity never reaching their full potential. This can affect the development potential of an entire region.
Before the earthquake in Port au Prince, Haiti, in January 2010, an estimated 250,000 Haitian children suffered form malnutrition. Food shortages and children orphaned by the earthquake will certainly drive this number much higher.
The Solution: Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF)
Ready to Use Therapeutic Food can return a severely malnourished child’s health within 4 to 8 weeks. Research has shown that severely malnourished kids treated with RUTF exhibit a 90% to 95% recovery rate and the relapse rate is also very low. After 12 months, 96% remain well nourished. By overcoming malnourishment, children have a chance at normal brain and body development.
RUTF is a home-based remedy which means the parent does not have to stay with the sick child in the hospital for several weeks and abandon other children during that time.
Community-Based Management of SAM
In 2007, a joint statement was issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Progremme (WFP), the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). This paper describes the problem and proposes a solution. TFP fully supports this statement and is working with our partners to implement its recommendations. Click the heading above to view the statement.
Clinical Study to Establish the Effectiveness of RUTF
A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by Dr. Mark Manary and others discusses the results of a controlled clinical effectiveness trial. The study compared home-based therapy using RUTF with the standard milk based therapy in the treatment of malnourished children in Malawi. This study was largely responsible for the acceptance of RUTF by the WHO and UNICEF noted in the paragraph above. Click the heading above to view this article.