Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) Market and Supply Update
Highlights on the global demand and supply of RUTF and UNICEF’s procurement strategy.
Highlights
Around the world, an estimated 12.2 million children under five suffer from severe wasting, requiring urgent treatment. While there has been an expansion in global production capacity for RUTF, funded demand is not sufficient to meet needs.
This update highlights the global demand and supply of RUTF. It summarises key developments in the product’s global market, covering demand and funding trends, supplier performance, pricing dynamics, and UNICEF’s procurement strategy for the coming years.
UNICEF procures about 80 per cent of RUTF’s global demand. In 2024, UNICEF delivered 86,500 MT of RUTF, enough to treat 6.2 million children, aided by donated supplies and rollover inventory.
UNICEF’s supplier base expanded to 23 manufacturers in 2025 and 61 per cent of the RUTF procured by UNICEF came from countries where it is highly needed.
UNICEF’s 2024–2027 market strategy focuses on three priorities:
- ensuring uninterrupted supply of quality-assured RUTF,
- promoting equitable access to treatment in both humanitarian and development settings,
- and supporting the sustainability of local production.
UNICEF calls for predictable, multi-year financing and integration of wasting treatment into health systems, alongside industry efforts to maintain capacity and accelerate product innovation. Continued investment in treatment, financing, and localization of production remain critical to sustain access to life-saving RUTF and to close the global treatment gap, especially outside of emergency contexts.
