Nigeria has secured the licence for local manufacture of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF), a specialised product used for malnutrition intervention program in targeted populations, including children 6 to 59 months of age with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in the wake of insurgency which has affected nutrition pattern in the affected areas.
While Nigeria spend millions of dollars annually to procure RUFT from Niger, European and American countries as no firm manufactures this nutritional solution for the treatment of SAM for vulnerable population, the securing of RUTF licence by Tyonex from Nutriset, analysts say is a positive step following UNICEF report which reveal that malnutrition is an underlying cause of under-5 deaths in Nigeria, accounting for more than 50 percent of deaths of children in this age bracket.
Malnutrition is one of the greatest child-killer conditions in Nigeria, contributing a whopping 53 percent of deaths to under-five mortality rate in the country.
A July 2013 report by the Federal Ministry of Health reveal that 41 percent of Nigerian children under age five suffer stunted growth, a form of malnutrition for which children appear too short for their age. This figure is even more in northern Nigeria as it goes as higher as 53 percent in the North-West, 49 percent in the North-East and only 22 percent in the South-East. This makes Nigeria one of the six countries that account for half of all child deaths from malnutrition globally.
Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, CEO, Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria, (PHN), told BusinessDay that PHN has been at the fore front of ensuring local manufacture of RUTF, a development that has seen it work with Tyonex which has secured partnership agreement with Nutriset, an international firm dedicated to research and RUTF production for vulnerable population.
Umar-Sadiq noted that through more market-based approach and engaging private sector companies across the value chain, the Alliance has engaged start-ups companies to produce products to solve moderate malnutrition and pulled local resources to save 50, 000 SAM children in 11 Sahelian States, including Borno and Kano.
“RUTF cost is one of the limiting factors in addressing this problem. PHN decided to take on malnutrition through strategic partnerships, and impact investments. In conjunction with Dangote Foundation, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Etisalat & Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Alliance has been able to treat at least 50,000 SAM in 11 Sahelian States.”
“We engaged private sector players including regulatory agencies by building capacity with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) providing technical and operational guideline on best practices needed to begin the manufacture of RUTFs. Nigeria spent millions of dollars buying RUTF from Niger Republic because Niger has a plant certified by WHO to produce these products required for World Food Programme and other interventions that are food-related,” Umar-Sadiq explained.
The ability to manufacture RUTF in Nigeria, experts say, is a welcome development as it could be able Nigeria participate in future RUTF procurement by United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) as the United Nations Agency strategic objective is to procure 50 percent of RUTF from local programmatic countries
In 2014, UNICEF procured RUFT from Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Madagascar, Niger, and Malawi, as well as Europe, Asia and United States of America for malnutrition management programmes in affected countries. Nigeria could not participate in UNICEF supply arrangement for 2014 as the UN Agency concluded its 2014 tender in December 2013.
During the same period, UNICEF actively sought potential suppliers in programmatically strategic countries like Nigeria, Chad and DRC as a number of manufacturers ceased production of RUTF as a result of cost-inefficiencies in product manufacturing, geographical location and challenges to meet standards.
The development of RUTF, combined with the adoption of community-based management and treatment of acute malnutrition, has greatly increased the effectiveness and efficiency of therapeutic feeding care.
BusinessDay gathered that because these malnutrition management programs are anchored on the availability of RUTF, effective malnutrition management at the community level in the country is dependent on procurement from source countries, clearance, shipping, and storage logistics.
In 2013, UNICEF procured 34,000 metric tonnes (MT) of RUFT Paste suitable to treat 2.6 million children. With the number of RUTF manufacturers and their country of origin increasing substantially, the UN Agency now procures RUTF from 19 different manufacturers, 14 of which are located in countries with high levels of malnutrition.
Basic raw materials for RUFT production include milk/dairy protein (skimmed/full cream milk powder or whey protein powder), peanuts, carbohydrates (lactose and glucose polymers), complex of minerals and vitamins, emulsifying agents (Lecithin, mono- and diglycerides), natural flavours, and antioxidants.
A 2014 Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI) Report revealed that only 20 percent of global production of RUTF occurs in program countries where therapeutic foods are used to treat malnutrition.
According to the report, “We feel that programmatic nations cannot continue to depend on therapeutic foods manufactured in other countries (usually developed nations) for their supply. Knowledge needs to be transferred and production scaled up to programmatic countries to ensure sustainability. As Nigeria is a country with a high burden of malnutrition, the local production of RUTF is a logical next step; it will increase availability, acceptability, access, and efficiency in supply, and lower costs.”
While demand is to increase over 5 years to reach 1.1 million children out of 3 million suffering from acute malnutrition requiring RUTF in Nigeria, calls to foster and nurture partner and stakeholder (Government, NGOs, private sector, donors) network interaction and facilitate the exchange of support, advice, guidance, funding and technical assistance remains critical for the success of RUFT production.
Alexander Chiejina
