In his work as a clinical nutritionist in Accra, Ghana, Ishawu Iddrisu knew there must be a better way to treat the roughly 15 children with severe acute malnutrition who landed in his office each month.
The primary option available to him was the nutrient-dense paste known as ready-to-use therapeutic food, or RUTF, which combines ingredients such as peanuts and milk powder and can help severely malnourished children gain weight quickly.
The problem was that Iddrisu was treating some of these children with RUTFs, only to see them return months later, once again malnourished.