Bumba Erinest
Victoria University Kampala, Uganda
Title: Development of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUFT) using local foods and determination of its effectiveness in mice
Biography
Biography: Bumba Erinest
Abstract
Acute malnutrition is a global public health issue, affecting millions of people worldwide. Currently, 47 million (6.9%) of children under five years are wasted, of which 14.3 million (2.1%) of them are severely wasted (Bank and Joint, 2020). In Africa, 12.7 million (6.4%) of children under five years are wasted and 3.5 million (1.8%) of them severely wasted; with West Africa accounting for the highest number 4.8 million (7.5%) wasted and 1.1 million (1.8) severely wasted (Bank and Joint, 2020). Children living with chronic infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis and those living under emergency conditions are the most affected with wasting. Additionally, despite the presence of clear management/treatment protocol for Severe Acute Malnutrition using Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs), coverage of the treatment for SAM is very low due to persistent inadequate availability of RUTF. Also, the imported RUTF is very expensive for the low income Countries to afford making it difficult for SAM children to access the treatments they require. This therefore calls for development of cost-effective local solution for the treatment of SAM, thus the proposed development of RUTF. The therapeutic food product shall be formulated from ten commonly available foods, sugar and vegetable oil, using the creative formulation software; “Concept 4-ED Creative Formula concepts- LLC’. Three recipes with nutrients composition closest to standard RUTF shall be selected from the formulations, each recipe prepared independently and mixed to form three different food products. The nutrients composition of the developed products shall be analyzed, sensory evaluation conducted and the three formulated products shall be tested for their effectiveness in mice using standard RUTF as control.