Ready-to-use therapeutic food for home-based treatment of severe acute malnutrition in children from six months to five years of age.

Malnourished children have a higher risk of death and illness. Treating severe acute malnourished children in hospitals is not always desirable or practical in rural settings, and home treatment may be better. Home treatment can be food prepared by the carer, such as flour porridge, or commercially manufactured food such as ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). RUTF is made according to a standard, energy-rich composition defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). The benefits of RUTF include a low moisture content, long shelf life without needing refrigeration and that it requires no preparation.