English 
Francais 
عربي 
Infant malnutrition – Médecins sans Frontières speaks out
[mis à jour le 12 October 2007 à 11h20]
Food is not enough. This is the hard-hitting slogan chosen by Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) as they advocate the scaling up of the use of RUFs (ready to use food) to reduce malnutrition worldwide. At present, of the 20 million children affected, as few as 3% have access to RUFs.
RUFs contain the vitamins, nutrients and minerals that are essential to the growth of young children. Particularly those under the age of 3. They are a new generation of highly nutritious food produced from milk, sugar and vegetable fats that can survive very well in hot climates. And this is essential as the major centres of malnutrition-related infant mortality are found in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and South Asia.
Another significant advantage is that RUFs can easily be produced locally. This is a real bonus compared with the traditional enriched flour products imported from wealthy countries. “RUFs enable children to regain their weight and strength in the space of two weeks”, explains Dr Gustavo Fernandez, MSF head of mission in Somalia. However, at present the WHO, the World Food Programme and UNICEF are limiting the use of these “therapeutic foods” to children affected by grave malnutrition only.
“These recommendations are too restrictive”, insists MSF. “RUF must be recommended as an early treatment for malnutrition, without waiting for the child to be affected by the more severe form of the disease”. And time is pressing – every year 5 million malnourished children die before the age of five…
Print this article
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Send to a friend
Convert to pdf
Copyright Authorization
