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Published By:
USAID Advancing Nutrition
Publication Date:
Technical Report
Democratic Republic of the Congo
English
French

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the large numbers of children with severe wasting have led to an increased demand for ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), the product used to treat children in outpatient care (IPC 2022). As part of efforts to understand and document the last mile delivery of this lifesaving product to health facilities in the DRC, USAID Advancing Nutrition studied four U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported RUTF pipelines. Using a mixed-methods approach, we sought to answer key research questions related to pipeline structure and cost, stock availability, and key challenges. We found that all pipelines faced problems with stockouts and transportation. Key informants highlighted several important opportunities for strengthening the pipelines, such as assessing the national supply chain’s readiness to integrate RUTF, improving RUTF donor coordination, and expanding the role of the Nutrition Cluster in supply chain management.

The Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food Supply Chain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (PDF, 23.2 MB)
View in Other Languages:
La chaîne d'approvisionnement en aliments thérapeutiques prêts à l'emploi en République démocratique du Congo : Analyse et recommandations pour le renforcement de la livraison du dernier kilomètre dans les provinces du Kasaï Oriental et du Nord Kivu
Associated Resource(s):
La chaîne d'approvisionnement en aliments thérapeutiques prêts à l'emploi en République démocratique du Congo: Résumé analytique
Photo: closeup of a young child with someone holding a package of a USAID labeled packet of food near his face. Caption: “A child receives treatment with ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) at a Unité Nutritionnel Thérapeutique Ambulatoire (Ambulatory Therapeutic Nutrition Unit) in Sud Kivu province in the DRC.”