Latest news with #RUTF
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Global Food Aid Matters to U.S. Workers and Manufacturers
As the CEO of a Charlotte, NC-based Design-Build firm, I have had firsthand involvement with the investment of billions of dollars in U.S.-based manufacturing facilities, and the thousands of jobs these facilities have created across our country. So, why would I have a connection to, or even care about, food aid sent to countries across the globe? My company works directly with the producer of a product that saves the lives of severely malnourished children worldwide: Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). These 'RUTFs' are simple, wallet-sized foil packets of mostly peanut butter, whey, and vitamins. Like a turbocharged but squeezable protein bar, this small but mighty, nutrient-dense food revives and nourishes children who otherwise might die. This product is intended for children facing severe malnourishment and starvation. Regardless of why this is occurring, the fact remains that these children lack basic staples that we in America, a global top food producer, take for granted. Unfortunately, the production and distribution of RUTF is under threat due to changes being made by the Trump administration. There is definitely merit to evaluating how taxpayer funds are being used. However, I believe it is critical that we not disrupt the flow of lifesaving products like RUTF. While it may now seem that this is just another 'tug on the heart strings' article, urging the U.S. government to spend dollars to save the world, I encourage you to read on. I do believe in assisting those in need, wherever they may live. But there is another side to this story that affects U.S. workers, farmers, and business interests. In fact, the RUTF aid program aligns with the Trump administration's stated goal of realigning U.S. foreign aid to support humanitarian and national interests, such as local industries, workers, and economies. My firm, A M King, is a classic American business success story. Started more than 20 years ago in one room as a bootstraps local job-creating enterprise, today we are 100% employee-owned, with 80 team members in highly paid professional jobs, and have generated more than $2.5 billion in revenue since our inception. Our specialty is designing and building food processing and food-storage facilities across the United States. That's what brought me to RUTF, professionally and personally. We have worked with an RUTF manufacturer, MANA Nutrition, to improve its Georgia production facilities. This nonprofit corporation buys 2 million pounds of peanuts a month from local farmers. From its 135,000 square-foot Fitzgerald production and warehouse facility, MANA Nutrition can produce 500,000 pounds of RUTF product per day and feed 10 million children a year. The facility also brings vital jobs to the community, supporting the economy and providing opportunities for families across the region. I believe this is what the Trump administration means by supporting U.S. manufacturing. Over the past several years of working closely with MANA Nutrition, I've come to know, understand, and appreciate their purpose, mission, and business. In my 40-year career of working with some of the nation's largest companies and a range of CEOs, I can truly say MANA Nutrition is a company founded on a noble cause, with a desire to change the world for the better. It's also a well-managed company, focused on efficient, effective business principles. Team members are all dedicated professionals who work hard and expect little in return. Mark Moore, MANA Nutrition's founder and CEO, was a missionary in Africa for many years. He knows the need from personal experience. He and others who fund this cause have made it their mission to end malnourishment. All funding to develop and build MANA Nutrition's production facilities comes from private donors. This is not a company seeking government handouts to build and sustain a business. I also know non-profits. I can discern when their mission is true and if their management is ethical. I also believe a non-profit should operate like a successful business, with efficiency and accountability. MANA Nutrition is one of these organizations. The only money MANA receives from USAID is to buy its RUTF product, which is then used only for humanitarian purposes. Lest anyone wonder, while MANA Nutrition is a customer, my support for continuing the production and distribution of RUTF is in no way an indirect business plea. My company is well-established and financially strong. My goal is to see MANA's mission and purpose continue, knowing they save lives every day with the product they produce. If RUTF funding isn't reinstated, MANA Nutrition may have to shut down, hurting not only the producer and their farmers, but their workers, community, and supply chain businesses. Most of all, it will impact those children who depend on America's big heart. As an entrepreneur, business founder, and a CEO, I understand the goal of ensuring U.S. taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, including on foreign aid. I also recognize that worthy investments that serve our national interests, even if they have broad bipartisan support, sometimes get caught up and canceled in efforts to make government work better. RUTF is worth saving. I'm urging the White House and Congress to keep funding the production and distribution of RUTF, for the benefit of American farmers and workers and children all over the world. Brian T. King is founder and CEO of A M King.
Fox News
10-06-2025
- Business
- Fox News
State Department reveals plan to deliver 'life-saving' meals to 1.4M starving children
FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. State Department and Secretary Marco Rubio punched back at claims that contracts providing Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs) have been halted and affirmed the agency will continue its commitment to "delivering critical humanitarian aid." "As USAID transitions under the State Department, our commitment to delivering critical humanitarian aid remains steadfast and aligned with America's foreign policy priorities," a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. "We are proud to continue working with our local partners to deliver life-saving ready-to-use therapeutic food. Most recently, an additional $50 million in RUTFs was approved. This is enough to nourish over one million of the world's most vulnerable children." RUFTs' contracts and operations were previously overseen by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). However, oversight now lies with the State Department after USAID merged into the agency in February, largely influenced by then-Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk. RUTFs are pre-packaged, nutrient-rich, ready-to-eat meals that help prevent malnutrition, mainly in children. Some countries even refer to RUTFs as a form of medicine. The State Department's comments come after Secretary Rubio faced questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill in a May hearing, when Democratic Rep. Gabe Amo of Rhode Island confronted Rubio in a heated exchange, saying the agency was intentionally "freezing" RUTF aid to countries in need. "You need to figure out why they're not moving, because it isn't an impediment for us," Rubio fired back. Amo responded, "No, you need to figure [that] out, sir," and said that the secretary "refused to make" a commitment to ensuring effective RUTF distribution. "We're going to continue to do food aid," Rubio answered. "We're going to do more food aid than any other country on the planet, times 10." A source at the State Department revealed to Fox News Digital that key partnerships with non-profit RUTF producers, MANA and Edesia, have been active since March 2. Additionally, 1.4 million boxes of RUTFs were approved on May 26. Fox also obtained an internal document and action memorandum for Jeremy Lewin, a former DOGE employee now overseeing the transition of merging USAID with the State Department, from USAID's Dianna Darney de Salcedo. The document called for urgent approval to move food commodities and RUFTs that were stored in warehouses to be shipped for use. The sensitive but unclassified document also revealed a request to approve a new Title II award, valued at $35 million, which sources say was several times less than initially estimated, to cover the costs of warehouses, shipping overseas, transporting inland, programming and distribution. Fox News Digital spoke to MANA CEO Mark Moore, who outlined a detailed timeline of RUTF federal contract negotiations and the challenges the non-profit faced as USAID merged into the State Department at the beginning of 2025. At one point, before the State Department and the Trump administration proposed contracts in May, Moore told Fox News, "We're all looking at June and July running out of these old contracts and saying we're just going to have to close the doors." He noted that "if this new order didn't come out, we'd really be screwed going into the summer." "It is trending the right way, and we're thrilled," Moore added. Fox News Digital reached out to Rep. Gabe Amo and Edesia but did not receive a response. Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to and on X @MizellPreston
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Critical Risk Of Famine For Children In Gaza
Fighting has surged again, border crossings are still closed and food is dangerously scarce, leaving Palestinian children facing catastrophic hunger and acute malnutrition. UNICEF is there, doing what it can to support and protect children. On May 7, 2025, at Al Farooq Camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, a woman holds a small child clutching a sachet of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). UNICEF has established a dedicated clinic in the camp to identify and treat children suffering from acute malnutrition. For over two months, the blockade has prevented vital medical and nutrition supplies from entering the Gaza Strip, leaving an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 children in need of therapeutic care each month. At this clinic, trained staff conduct MUAC (mid-upper-arm circumference) screenings and distribute RUTF to help restore children's health and build their resilience. © UNICEF/UNI792833/Rawan Eleyan. All rights reserved. A new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report warns that the entire population of the Gaza Strip is facing high levels of acute food insecurity; 470,000 (one in five) face starvation. Nearly 71,000 children under the age of 5 and more than 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will require urgent treatment for acute malnutrition in the coming months. Confirmed by 17 UN agencies and NGOs, the report projects that renewed military operations, the ongoing blockade and the critical lack of supplies needed for survival could push food insecurity, acute malnutrition and mortality levels past the famine thresholds. 'The only thing children are seeing coming into Gaza are bombs and missiles.' UNICEF ramped up delivery during the ceasefire, sending nearly 1,000 truckloads of lifesaving aid including vaccines, nutrition supplies and medical equipment. Those stocks are now running dangerously low. 'The only thing children are seeing coming into Gaza are bombs and missiles,' said UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder. Children and adults are surrounded by damaged and destroyed buildings in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on May 12, 2025. Low supply and high demand have sent prices soaring – today, a 55-pound bag of flour costs $300. © UNICEF/UNI794465/Jonathan Crickx. All rights reserved. Despite the aid blockade that began on March 2, UNICEF remains on the ground, working to meet children's most urgent needs. Between March and April, UNICEF managed to: On May 8, 2025 in Deir al-Balah, located in the central Gaza Strip, people gather to fill jerry cans with clean, drinkable water from a UNICEF-supported desalination plant before loading them onto donkey carts for transport. © UNICEF/UNI793029/Rawan Eleyan. All rights reserved. UNICEF is also working to provide mental health and psychosocial support for children in Gaza, where the daily stress of living in a war zone for 19 months, not knowing where or when the next air strike will occur, has taken a heavy toll. Renewed hostilities forced some UNICEF temporary learning spaces to close; now UNICEF is re-opening locations in the Middle and Al Nuseirat areas of central Gaza to help children resume their learning despite disruptions. To date, more than 50,000 children have benefited from these safe learning environments, where they receive structured lessons in Arabic, English and mathematics, alongside recreational activities that restore a sense of normalcy and protect their right to education. Learn more about UNICEF's ongoing support for children in Gaza On May 11, 2025, children participate in a geometry activity at a UNICEF-supported temporary learning space at Al Nakheel Camp in Deir El Balah, Gaza Strip. © UNICEF/UNI794478/Jonathan Crickx. All rights reserved. Approximately 90 percent of Gaza's population — roughly 1.9 million people — have been displaced, often multiple times, cutting off families from their livelihoods. Their farmland has been destroyed and the sea they used for fishing has been restricted. Families are rationing remaining food supplies received during the ceasefire. To help parents feed their children, UNICEF reached 200,000 people with humanitarian cash transfers through digital e-wallets between March and April. But with all border crossings closed since March 2 — the longest the population has ever faced — food prices in markets have spiked to astronomical levels, putting what little food is available out of reach for most families. 'The risk of famine does not arrive suddenly," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "It unfolds in places where access to food is blocked, where health systems are decimated and where children are left without the bare minimum to survive." "Hunger and acute malnutrition are a daily reality for children across the Gaza Strip," Russell continued. "We have repeatedly warned of this trajectory and call again on all parties to prevent a catastrophe.' Shelves are nearly bare in a shop in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on May 12, 2025. © UNICEF/UNI794462/Jonathan Crickx. All rights reserved. More than 116,000 metric tons of food assistance — enough to feed 1 million people for up to four months — is already positioned in aid corridors, ready to be brought in. Hundreds of pallets of lifesaving nutrition treatments are also prepositioned for entry. 'Families in Gaza are starving while the food they need is sitting at the border," said UN World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McClalin. "We can't get it to them because of the renewed conflict and the total ban on humanitarian aid imposed in early March. It's imperative that the international community acts urgently to get aid flowing into Gaza again. If we wait until after a famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for many people.' United Nations agencies including UNICEF and WFP stand ready to work with all stakeholders and food security partners to bring in these food and nutrition supplies and distribute them as soon as borders reopen for principled aid delivery. UNICEF urges all parties to prioritize the needs of civilians, allow aid to enter Gaza immediately and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. Help UNICEF save more lives. Donate today. Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
The Hindu
08-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
1,22,826 nutritional kits distributed to 4,454 malnourished children in Karur
A total of 1,22,826 nutritional kits were distributed to 4,454 malnourished children in Karur district under the 'Uttachathai Uruthi Sei' — a nutritional intervention programme. Speaking at the Veerarakiyam anganwadi in Krishnarayam taluk, Karur District Collector, M. Thangavel, said that 2,856 children in Karur under the age of six were found to be malnourished. A total of 1,20,568 Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) were given to 2,153 children along with their regular meals. Their conditions began to improve after a month of consuming RUTF, according to a press release from the District Collectorate. In order to offer redress to nursing mothers in two phases, 1,026 nutritional kits were distributed to 703 malnourished nursing mothers identified in the district. In the second phase, 1,598 malnourished mothers were identified and 2,258 nutritional kits were handed out to them, according to a press release.
Scoop
23-04-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Aid Cuts Threaten The Lives Of 110,000 Children With Severe Malnutrition Reliant On Emergency Treatment
Press Release – Save The Children Globally, one in five deaths among children aged under 5 are attributed to severe acute malnutrition, making it one of the top threats to child survival. At least 110,000- severely acutely malnourished children supported by Save the Children in 10 countries could be left without access to life-saving ready-to-use emergency food and nutrition programmes as aid cuts hit supplies in coming months, according to a Save the Children analysis. Globally, one in five deaths among children aged under 5 are attributed to severe acute malnutrition, making it one of the top threats to child survival. Community-based programmes combining medical treatment and therapeutic foods, including a fortified peanut paste, have a 90% success rate. Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) is an energy-dense, micronutrient paste typically made using peanuts, sugar, milk powder, oil, vitamins and minerals that is packaged in foil pouches with a long shelf life and no need of refrigeration. Over the past 30 years this emergency therapeutic food has saved the lives of millions of children facing acute malnutrition [1] [2]. At a time when global hunger is skyrocketing [3], the current global supply of RUTF is already not even meeting 40% of global needs, Save the Children said, leaving millions of children without access to this life-saving intervention. In 2024 there were large-scale breaks in the supply of RUTF as rising malnutrition rates drove up demand and due to disruptions in global supply chains and insufficient funding. This situation is expected to worsen in 2025. An analysis by Save the Children of the 10 countries forecast to have the biggest gaps in supplies found 110,000 malnourished children could miss out on this vital treatment by the end of the year. RUTF supplies are expected to run out in many locations from next month due to a lack of funding. Globally at least 18.2 million children were born into hunger in 2024, or about 35 children a minute, with children in conflict zones from Gaza to Ukraine, to Haiti, Sudan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), struggling daily to get enough to eat. Famine has been declared in several parts of Sudan where people are resorting to eating grass to stay alive. Hannah Stephenson, Head of Hunger and Nutrition at Save the Children, said: 'Right now, funding shortfalls mean essential nutrition packs are not reaching the children who desperately need them. We know we have the expertise and the track record to reach children around the world but what we urgently need now is the funding to ensure children can receive life-saving treatment. We are running out of time, and t his will cost children's lives. 'We also need to see long-term commitments to tackle the root causes of hunger and malnutrition, or else we will continue to see the reversal of progress made for children.' In Kenya, one of the countries where Save the Children treats acute malnutrition cases, 18-month-old Ereng has just recovered from malnutrition with treatment from Community Health Promoter Charles, who was trained in basic healthcare by Save the Children. Lomanat and Daniel, Ereng's parents, walked for several kilometres to reach Charles' clinic. The family are pastoralists, but recent droughts have killed their livestock, and the family now has no sustainable income and no reliable food source. They know how important treatment is for children like Ereng, who gained 2.4 kgs (5.3 pounds) in two months once she started receiving nutrition treatment using the fortified peanut paste which has about 500 calories in each portion. Lomanat said: 'Our child was in a very bad shape, and the doctor helped by giving her peanut paste. I am very happy, because she is cured.' In Somalia, where Save the Children also treats child with acute malnutrition, 7-month-Mukhtar- arrived at a health centre in Puntland after contracting flu which led to breathing difficulties and malnutrition. His mother Shamso, 40, who has eight other children, feared her son would not survive with the family struggling after drought killed all but six of their herd of 30 goats. But after receiving medical care and treatment for malnutrition with peanut paste, Mukhtar recovered and returned home. 'His condition was serious when I brought him in and I didn't expect him to reach the town alive ,' said Shamso. 'My biggest worry is the children, whether my own, those of the relatives or those of my neighbours. When drought comes, it follows that hunger will strike.' Children are always the most vulnerable in food crises and, without enough to eat and the right nutritional balance, they are at high risk of becoming acutely malnourished. Malnutrition can cause stunting, impede mental and physical development, and increase the risk of contracting deadly diseases. About 1.12 billion children globally – or almost half of the world's children – are unable to afford a balanced diet now, according to data from Save the Children released last month. In 2025, Save the Children aims to treat 260,000 children for severe acute malnutrition at outpatient sites in 10 countries that are now experiencing therapeutic food shortages. Save the Children is urgently trying to raise $7 million to provide 110,000 severely malnourished children with life-saving RUTF and the critical services needed to treat malnutrition 1 including skilled health workers, community follow-up, immunizations, safe spaces for treatment, safe water, hygiene and sanitation support. In the United States, actress and Save the Children ambassador Jennifer Garner launched her #67Strong4Kids campaign on her birthday last week. For #67Strong4Kids she is running a mile a day for 67 consecutive days to raise awareness about Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). The amount $67 covers a six-week course of RUTF that treats a child suffering from severe acute malnutrition and potentially saves their life.
