This is an amazing story and ought to have been covered in detail by the main stream media.
When it came to facing the issue of malnutrition, a local Afghani public heath administrator provided the team with a starting point. Dr. Zamarai Sultan, the Qalat public health administrator, shared some information with Doctor Arnold about a product he knew of that had been used in other countries like Africa.
Based on this starting point, Doctor Arnold and Captain Harrelson found a recipe online, in July, they thought could be successfully reproduced, and more importantly, they believed could be tweaked for the local production. The “Ready to Use Therapeutic Food” recipe they settled on called for only five ingredients – sugar, oil, powered milk, almonds and liquid vitamins, all which are available for purchase in village markets.
“We are using this particular recipe because there is no cooking required,” Capt. Harrelson explained. “The types of ingredients we are using are not water based, so this can stand on a shelf without refrigeration for four months. This really works perfectly. It won’t go bad. It won’t cause disease, and it won’t cause sickness.”
Doctor Arnold said he believes this, compared to other projects PRTs have done in the past, is one can have a profound effect. “We can teach them to make this; the materials are here in the country, and they can sustain this. They just need to know how to do it and know that it exists,” he said.
A single batch of the sweet-tasting RUTF can feed a child who is severely malnourished for 20 days for less than five U.S. dollars. A child receives a 600 calorie serving of the supplement to eat throughout the course of a day. This routine will bring a child back to healthy state so a normal diet can be started.
The peanut butter like consistency of the supplement, designed specifically for those 6 months to 5 years old, has more benefits than just being easy to make.
“The children don’t have to actually chew it, they can suck on it. They don’t have to have a lot of strength or teeth,” Captain Harrelson said.
Here are some photos to illustrate the subject.
Locally grown roasted peanuts will be ground and mixed with sugar, cooking oil, powdered milk and children's liquid vitamins to create Ready to Use Therapeutic Food doses or Qavi Ghiza (Pashtu for 'Strong Food') designed to help malnourished Afghan children gain weight, and ultimately restore them to a state in which they can tolerate and thrive on a healthy age-appropriate diet, Oct. 29, Forward Operating Base Farah, Afghanistan. The Supplemental Food Program was initiated by the Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah in June 2009. At first the food was mixed and packaged at Forward Operating Base Farah and distributed at the Civil Affairs ran Special Operations Forces Clinic just outside the FOB. As of Oct. 31, the Supplemental Feeding Program will be completely handed over to the Afghan doctors at Farah Hospital who will now manage and execute the program under minimal supervision from the PRT medical team. Photo by Master Sgt. Tracy DeMarco
Bottles of children's liquid vitamins, including Vitamin A, B-complex, C, D, calcium, iron and foliate, are open and ready to be poured into a mixture known as Ready to Use Therapeutic Food or Qavi Ghiza (Pashtu for 'Strong Food'), which is being mixed and separated into 90ml doses to be handed out to families with malnourished children through the Supplemental Feeding Program at Farah Hospital, Afghanistan, Oct. 29. The vitamins are mixed with ground peanuts, sugar, cooking oil and powdered milk. Photo by Master Sgt. Tracy DeMarco
U.S. Navy Lt. Anna Choe leads a team of local Farah Hospital doctors and Special Operations Civil Affairs medics as they make Ready to Use Therapeutic Food doses or Qavi Ghiza (Pashtu for 'Strong Food') at the Forney Clinic located on Forward Operating Base Farah, Afghanistan, Oct. 29, for distribution through the Supplemental Feeding Program which as of Oct. 31, will be handled completely out Farah Hospital. Photo by Master Sgt. Tracy DeMarco
Scooping Ready to Use Therapeutic Food doses or Qavi Ghiza (Pashtu for 'Strong Food') into 90ml doses at the Forney Clinic located on Forward Operating Base Farah, Mohammad Rahim Fiazi, the head registered nurse at Farah Hospital, Afghanistan, prepares for the upcoming Supplemental Feeding Program scheduled for Oct. 31, which will occur at Farah Hospital. Photo by Master Sgt. Tracy DeMarco
