Bring a child back from the brink of starvation

The photo at the top of this page shows a miracle in progress.

Pictured is two-year-old Luul, who was tragically diagnosed with acute malnutrition.

She was close to suffering long-term disability, disease and even death.

But the packet in her tiny hands, and the monthly UNICEF donors who supplied it, helped save her life.

Just one month after her treatment began in Somalia, her health has significantly improved.

The little sachet of life-saving food she is eating is known as RUTF – ready-to-use therapeutic food – and is made of peanuts, oil and sugar, and a premix of vitamins and minerals.

And UNICEF is using it to save millions of children suffering from malnutrition around the world each year.

On average 4.6 million children annually receive RUTF, and UNICEF distributes an estimated 75-80 per cent of the supply.

But many more children are in urgent need. Right now babies are at risk of starving to death. Half of all deaths among children under 5 are linked to undernutrition. 

UNICEF is working to reach them now, and this would be impossible without our monthly donors. Their regular giving means we can count on the funds being there when it is needed most.

When a war breaks out, when a famine strikes, when thousands are made homeless by floods – it is our monthly donors who are the heroes.

It is they who save children from hunger. People like you make miracles happen.

Magic in a packet: what is RUTF?

In just one year UNICEF reached 9.3 million children with life-saving treatment for severe wasting – a deadly lack of nutritious food and repeated bouts of diseases.

A crucial part of this treatment was ready-to-use therapeutic food – RUTF.

This is an energy dense, micronutrient paste that doesn’t require preparation or need to be mixed with water, reducing the risk of children catching waterborne diseases. It is safe and easy to use and can be eaten straight from the sachet.

And best of all, children like it!

Amira’s life-saving support

Severe acute malnutrition had a devastating effect on 2-year-old Amira’s tiny body.

In her home in Niger, her mother Chafa’atou watched in terror as she suffered from vomiting, diarrhea, and painful mouth sores.

As time passed, her condition got worse.

Thankfully, Chafa’atou was able to take her daughter to a clinic, despite it being a three-hour drive from her village. There she received treatment, which included RUTF.

“I didn’t even think she was going to survive, but now, thank God, she is slowly recovering,” Chafa’atou said.

Thousands of other children like Amira are suffering the cruel pain that comes with malnutrition and disease.

They can be found in emergency situations you see on the news every week. And UNICEF is on the ground helping them.

But there are also children struggling to survive in countries out of the spotlight. These children desperately need help too.

This is why UNICEF’s monthly donors are so important. In both emergencies and in overlooked crises, it is regular givers, people like you, who make the greatest difference.

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Help save children’s lives each and every month

UNICEF is saving the lives of thousands of children around the world today, and with your help we can reach even more in urgent need. 

• With €30 a month, you can supply enough peanut paste to save the lives of 38 children facing starvation around the globe. Help protect children living in hunger crises in countries like Somalia and Yemen today.

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