Skip to main content
< Back to news
Ordesa will finance 34,000 units of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) that Doctors Without Borders will distribute free among the child population. Photo: Ordesa.
 19.06.2015

The Ordesa Foundation collaborates with Doctors Without Borders to improve the nutrition of Congolese children

The Ordesa Foundation will finance 34,000 units of prepared therapeutic food (RUTF) that Doctors Without Borders (MSF) will distribute to children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The partnership is part of the work conducted by the Ordesa Foundation to provide funding and advocacy, through direct aid, to projects aimed at children without resources. Since 2007, the Ordesa Group has R&D&i center at Barcelona Science Park (PCB), from which it is actively involved in clinical studies and national and international programs to improve people´s health and quality of life, especially in maternal and infant stage.

 

The Democratic Republic of Congo is among the poorest countries in the world. Over 70% of the population lives below the poverty threshold and 15% of the child population suffers from malnutrition.

Faced with this reality and with the aim  of helping improve the nutrition and health of infants, breast-fed infants and children during their first years of life, the Ordesa Foundation has signed a collaboration agreement with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) so that  children with acute severe malnutrition in the Democratic Republic of Congo receive proper treatment.

In particular, the Ordesa Foundation will finance 34,000 units of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) that MSF will distribute free among the child population affected by severe malnutrition in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Partnership agreement is framed within the work of the Ordesa Foundation to provide funding and promotion through the granting of direct aid to projects aimed at the child population without resources and / or affected by socio-economic underdevelopment in order to provide a better quality of life and dignified human child development.
 

RUFT, all advantages

In recent years, prepared therapeutic foods (ready-to-use therapeutic foods or RUTF) have proven to be very effective in treating children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. MSF began using the RUTF in Niger in 2005, where more than 60,000 children were treated and where cure rates above 90% were achieved, a number far greater than that achieved by previously used treatments. To date, MSF has treated more than 300,000 children.

High in nutrients, RUFT is a paste produced from milk powder, peanut, oil and sugar that has been specifically designed to meet the nutritional needs of children aged between 6 months and 5 years suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

This revolutionary therapeutic food has shown to treat 10 times more children than previous programs. Unlike other treatments, RUFT contains no water, which makes it more resistant to bacterial contamination; it does not require previous preparation, it is divided into vacuum packed, ready to eat individual envelopes; it has a long shelf life and can be transported in hot climates. In addition, it is not necessary for children to be admitted into a healthcare center for treatment since RUFT can be consume at home. This allows the program to reach more children, while the risk of contracting an infection in the hospital is minimized.