In 1997, Dr. Andre Briand noticed that the nutritional balance of proteins, lipids, and calories in a popular chocolate spread was similar to therapeutic meals used to treat children suffering from severe malnutrition. Two years later, Plumpy’Nut was born. (click here for transcript of an interview with Dr. Briand)
Dr. Briand, a French pediatrician, had been searching for a method to supply malnourished children with the nutritional equivalent of therapies recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). While these suggested diets worked extremely well, it was impossible to reach a wide population of children because the special combination of meal powder, oil, sugar, vitamins and minerals required the use of clean drinking water to prepare (an ingredient often unavailable in villages throughout the world).
Plumpy’nut is a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) contained in individual packets, usually foil pouches. RUTF packets are administered to children regularly, and requires no addition of any materials, which reduces the risk of bacterial infection. Plumpy’nut is also convenient for home administration: allowing health workers to follow the progress of children receiving treatment, but also freeing space in normally overflowing treatment centers and hospitals. Plumpy’nut is also being produced in Africa, which reduces the cost of distribution and creates a sense of self-sufficiency and control among the populations that need food therapy the most.
Anderson Cooper interviewed Dr. Milton Tectonidis, a nutrition specialist with Doctors Without Borders for 60 Minutes. Dr. Tectonidis states, “It’s a revolution in nutritional affairs. … Now we have something. It is like an essential medicine.”
Tags: malnutrition, plumpy'nut, rutf, sierra leone health
