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Bursting with energy!

Two-year-old Tina is recovering from severe malnutrition at a UNICEF-supported hospital in Malawi.

She’s eating ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), a life-saving paste packed with calories, vitamins and minerals.

It comes in a foil sachet, has a shelf life of two years, and doesn’t require refrigeration even after opening – making it easy for children to receive vital nutrition both quickly and safely.

In the early 2000s, when RUTF became commercially available, the global supply was expensive and extremely limited.

Thanks to partners, UNICEF has helped scale up production and decrease the costs over the past two decades, now making us the largest buyer of the RUTF globally.

In 2022, UNICEF delivered 68,000 metric tons of RUTF – enough to fill more than 500 Boeing 747 aircraft. ✈️

Despite progress, climate change and conflict continue to put children at risk of severe malnutrition. UNICEF won’t stop, until every child is protected.