Severe acute malnutrition is a devastating condition afflicting under-5 children in many developing countries, but concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper examines the development of home-based lipid-nutrient therapeutic foods for the treatment of acute malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa and the adoption of these therapies as a standard of care for non-complicated cases of acute malnutrition. Several of the early key clinical and operational effectiveness trials are discussed as well as the adoption of home-based treatment as a standard operating procedure in regions where malnutrition is present.
Keywords: Home-based therapy; Malnutrition,; Ready-to-use therapeutic food,.