Therapeutic Food
Frontline Workers, digitally trained and app-guided, deliver home-based malnutrition treatment with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). Every visit is verified with GPS, timestamps, and photos.
From MUAC screening to recovery at home.
Connect builds on WHO’s updated 2023 guidelines, which recognize that community health workers can deliver high-quality SAM treatment when properly trained and supervised. Every step is digitally guided, verified, and paid only when completed correctly.
Digital Training & Certification
Frontline Workers complete self-paced, offline digital training on WHO SAM guidelines before delivering any care, covering MUAC screening, SAM diagnosis, RUTF dosing, counselling, and danger-sign recognition. Workers must pass in-app certification before they are assigned cases.
MUAC Screening & Case Identification
Workers use mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) to screen children aged 6–59 months in the community. Cases of uncomplicated SAM are identified and assigned to a Frontline Worker by a supervising nurse. Children with danger signs or complicated SAM are referred to a health facility.
Guided Home Visits
At each home visit, the Connect app guides the worker through the full protocol: RUTF dosing calculation, counselling on feeding and hygiene, weight recording, and danger-sign checks. Decision support is built in. Workers are prompted when dosing adjustments or referrals are needed.
Nurse-Led LLO Oversight
Locally Led Organizations (LLOs) employ trained nurses who assign cases, supervise Frontline Workers, manage RUTF supply chains, and coordinate referrals. LLOs receive start-up funding and pay-per-verified-service contracts, aligning incentives with quality delivery and minimising leakage.
Digital Verification & Payment
Every visit is verified with GPS, timestamps, and photos before triggering payment. Workers are paid only for confirmed, quality visits. The platform collects continuous data on service delivery, child outcomes, and costs, enabling rigorous monitoring and rapid course correction.
18-Month Pilot in
Northern Nigeria
The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) is funding an 18-month pilot to develop and validate a scalable, low-cost model for community-based SAM treatment in northern Nigeria, with a target cost of $30 per case, excluding RUTF.
Distance and cost shouldn’t decide who gets treated.
Severe malnutrition affects tens of millions of children globally and is a leading cause of child mortality, yet most treatment requires repeated trips to a health facility, which many families cannot manage. WHO’s updated 2023 guidelines recognize that community health workers can correctly screen, diagnose, and treat uncomplicated SAM when given adequate training, supervision, and motivation.
Connect brings together digital certification, guided delivery, nurse-led oversight, and pay-per-verified-visit to make that possible at scale. The 18-month CIFF-funded pilot in northern Nigeria will test whether this model can deliver high-quality care at $30 per case, and demonstrate a replicable blueprint for expanding SAM treatment beyond health facilities.
Bring malnutrition treatment home.
If you’re interested in running a therapeutic food program or co-funding the model, reach out.
Get in touch