Last updated: 15 Jun 2018
WHAT IS SEVERE ACUTE MALNUTRITION?
Source: UNICEF
Severe acute malnutrition is the most extreme and visible form of undernutrition. Its face is a child – frail and skeletal – who requires urgent treatment to survive.
Children with severe acute malnutrition have very low weight for their height and severe muscle wasting. They may also have nutritional oedema – characterized by swollen feet, face and limbs. About two thirds of these children live in Asia and almost one third live in Africa.
Severe acute malnutrition is a major cause of death in children under 5, and its prevention and treatment are critical to child survival and development.
HOW CAN WE EFFECTIVELY TREAT SEVERE ACUTE MALNUTRITION?
Source: UNICEF
Until relatively recently, children with severe acute malnutrition were only treated in hospitals where they received therapeutic milks along with medical care; and many more were never reached at all. With the creation of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) however, the picture has changed dramatically.
Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) is a high-energy, micronutrient enhanced paste used to treat children under age 5 who are affected by severe acute malnutrition. As its name implies, RUTF does not need to be cooked or prepared before consumption. This makes it a practical solution where cooking facilities and fuel are limited. RUTF has a long shelf life and is safe for use even in the absence of clean drinking water.
The use of RUTF has transformed the treatment of severe acute malnutrition, in part, because it allows those children without medical complications to be cured right in their own homes and communities. This approach is referred to as the community-based management of severe acute malnutrition.
The power of the community-based approach is that early detection and early treatment leads to better rates of survival and the treatment of many more children. It also empowers communities and is much more cost-effective than in-patient treatment.