Program Type
Areas of Focus
Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) is a specialized food product used in international development to treat severe acute malnutrition in children. It is a nutrient-dense, energy-rich paste made from locally-sourced ingredients such as peanuts, milk powder, and vegetable oil, and does not require refrigeration or mixing with water.
RUTF is designed to provide all the nutrients and energy a child needs to recover from malnutrition in a safe and effective manner. It is typically distributed as part of a community-based treatment program, where healthcare workers and volunteers identify and treat malnourished children in their homes or at local health centres. RUTF has been shown to be highly effective in treating severe acute malnutrition, with cure rates of up to 90 per cent, and is considered a key tool in global efforts to reduce malnutrition and child mortality.
World Vision's malnutrition program using ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) has helped save the life of Naqeeb, a two-year-old suffering from severe acute malnutrition in an internally displaced persons settlement in Herat, Afghanistan.
Read more(link opens in new tab/window)Help provide emergency nutrition to hungry children. Thanks to donations from partners, your gift multiplies 2X in value to ship and distribute high-protein food packets to severely malnourished children. Three servings a day for six weeks can save the life of a starving child.
