Project Peanut Butter has considerable RUTF production knowledge and expertise stemming from our long history of local production in developing nations and our founder’s extensive malnutrition research background. We endeavor to share this knowledge with other organizations whenever possible in order to reach more children in need of treatment. As a result, we have supported various small-scale production projects across Africa and beyond, in addition to maintaining our own ongoing projects.

The Philippines

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In 2010, PPB assisted partners from the Payatas Orione Foundation, Inc. (PAOFI) and the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity in establishing a program to produce RUTF on a small scale. The team originally produced supplements for adults suffering from tuberculosis. In 2012, based on the success of the earlier partnership with PAOFI, PPB extended the success of the existing RUTF program in Payatas to help even more malnourished children who were in need of treatment. We continue to send support staff from the USA to provide input on this project, although it is largely self-sustained.

Somalia

PPB has helped the Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation (DHAF) provide treatment to many malnourished children in war-torn Somalia. Since 1983, DHAF has provided emergency relief, including basic medical care, to hundreds of thousands of inhabitants of a sprawling refugee camp outside of Mogadishu, Somalia. Project Peanut Butter supported Dr. Abdi and DHAF in 2012 by sending a shipment of 11.4 mT of RUTF from its production facility in Sierra Leone to the DHAF camp, but this solution proved to be merely temporary. PPB realized that it would be ideal if DHAF could produce its own RUTF because this would be cheaper than purchasing it externally and would ensure a consistent supply of RUTF in the camp, even during unstable times.

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In October 2013, a PPB employee met with four DHAF representatives in Nairobi and conducted a week-long training. The DHAF trainees acquired knowledge about safe and quality production of RUTF and demonstrated thorough understanding of the process. The RUTF that was produced during training was carried back to the DHAF camp to be used for the feeding program. The project was a great success, and PPB will continue to support DHAF’s feeding program by funding the purchase of raw materials for 3 years and offering technical support whenever needed.

Kenya

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PPB assisted with a small-scale RUTF production project in Kenya in 2013. The Orione Community Training Center (OCTC), led by the Kenya Orione Priests, serves 45 children and youth with disabilities, from ages 5 to 27 years. Staff members at the center recognized that the children do not receive adequate nutrition, so PPB set about formulating an appropriate supplement that could be made at the center using local ingredients. A PPB representative then visited the center to help them establish standard procedures for making the supplement. The project was a great success, and PPB has agreed to support the OCTC project for one year.