The malnutrition bazaar: the case of RUTF

Radha Holla

doi:10.26596/wn.2021122104-118

Abstract

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in children is life-threatening. Its causes range from lack of access to balanced food, to incorrect feeding practices, lack of access to an efficient health system, to clean potable water and sanitation. However, the present approach to managing SAM is fortified packaged food – a paste made with peanuts or other protein rich food such as chickpeas, milk and sugar, to which micronutrients are added. Currently, a version of the paste with less energy levels is also being recommended for treating even moderate forms of malnutrition, as well as for prevention of malnutrition (World Health Organization (WHO), 2012; WHO/UNICEF/WFP, 2014; WFP/UNICEF/USAID, undated). The large number of malnourished children around the globe furnish the food and pharmaceutical industries with an immense potential market for these fortified food packages. That the market for ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) is rapidly expanding is primarily due to its endorsement by the World Health Organisation (WHO, the World Food Programme, the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition[1] (UNSCN) and UNICEF for treating SAM (World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition and the United Nations Children’s Fund. (2007).). Non state actors like Action Against Hunger (Action Contre La Faim) and Médecins Sans Frontières have also been working to introduce RUTF treatment in countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, Malawi, Yemen, India and Pakistan. In addition, several of the new manufacturers use unethical marketing practices to increase their share of sales. The long-term sustainable solution to reducing undernutrition has to be based on policies that manage conflict, inequity, gender imbalance, food sovereignty and security, infant and young child feeding, basic health services and provision of safe drinking water and sanitation. [1] In 2020, the UN Network for SUN (UNN) merged with the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN) to form a new entity, called UN Nutrition. As of 1 January 2021, the UN Nutrition Secretariat, hosted by FAO headquarters, became operational.

Highlights

Malnutrition takes several forms – undernutrition which comprises moderate and severe wasting, stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity
RUTF has been endorsed by WHO, the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as non-state actors (NSAs) such as Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hellen Keller Institute, and humanitarian agencies such as Action Against Hunger (Action Contre La Faim or ACF) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (WHO, 2019), who use it in specific projects and programs in India and several African countries, often under waivers from national regulators (WFP & MSF, 2018)
An important driver of the growing market for malnutrition is the increasing emphasis on community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM), described by WHO as a “community approach” that emphasizes “timely detection” of severe acute malnutrition (SAM), and ensures that children with uncomplicated SAM are provided with treatment that includes provision of RUTF (WHO et al, 2007)

Summary

Introduction

Malnutrition takes several forms – undernutrition which comprises moderate and severe wasting, stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity. RUTF has been endorsed by WHO, the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as NSAs such as GAIN, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hellen Keller Institute, and humanitarian agencies such as Action Against Hunger (Action Contre La Faim or ACF) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (WHO, 2019), who use it in specific projects and programs in India and several African countries, often under waivers from national regulators (WFP & MSF, 2018).

Results

Conclusion