USAID provides lifesaving nutrition supplies to treat malnourished children in Sudan

KHARTOUM, 16 March 2023 – With the generous support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), children with severe acute malnutrition in Sudan will be provided with ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), a lifesaving nutrition commodity. 

The support comes at a critical time, as 3 million children in Sudan are malnourished of whom 611,000 suffer from severe wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition. USAID through UNICEF will provide more than 65,000 cartons of RUTF to treat over 65,000 children under-five with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in 2023.

UNICEF is the sole provider of lifesaving RUTF. In 2022, UNICEF Sudan and its partners supported the treatment of more than 321,000 children with severe acute malnutrition, of which 182,187 were reached with USAID support. This year, there are over 600,000 children with SAM who need urgent treatment and UNICEF is committed to prevention, early detection and treatment of malnutrition. UNICEF Sudan will also ensure the continuity of treatment of children with severe acute malnutrition until they are fully recovered, to minimize risk of relapse.

“Proper nutrition is a game changer. Children who are well nourished are more likely to be healthy, productive and able to learn,” says says Mary Louise Eagleton, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Sudan. “Investing simultaneously in preventing and treating malnutrition will save lives and prevent more children from being in danger."

“The United States is proud to partner with UNICEF to provide life-saving Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to Sudanese children suffering from acute malnutrition,” says Mervyn Farroe, USAID Mission Director Sudan. “This donation underscores our commitment to helping the most vulnerable children, especially in this time of increasing need in Sudan."

The cartons of therapeutic food will be dispatched throughout the country to more than 1,800 nutrition centers where UNICEF and partners are screening children for malnutrition and providing therapeutic assistance to those in most urgent need.