DR. MARK MANARY
2007 HEALTH AWARD
Project Peanut Butter
Sub-Saharan Africa
In 1999, Dr. Mark Manary, a pediatrician, went on a 10-week-long trip to Malawi, one of the places hardest hit by malnutrition. When he arrived, malnourished children were being hospitalized and treated with fortified milk. However, only 25-40% of children recovered.
Dr. Manary knew something had to change. He started collaborating with a friend at Nutriset, a French-based company known for their development of the first Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs). Together, they developed a nutrient-dense peanut butter paste that provides children with severe acute malnutrition the specific, high-quality nutrition they needed to survive and recover at a rate of 95%.
Today, Project Peanut Butter (PPB) seeks to advance the treatment of severe malnutrition, the single largest cause of child death in the world today, using effective, locally produced ready-to-use therapeutic foods. This nonprofit is formed to provide needed nutritional and medical support primarily to children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.