Community Therapeutic Care (CTC): a new approach to managing acute malnutrition in emergencies and beyond

This technical note from the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project answers key questions on Community Therapeutic Care (CTC). CTC is a new approach to managing acute malnutrition in emergencies and beyond. It aims to provide rapid, effective and low cost assistance that is least disruptive to affected communities. It also aims to link relief and development interventions for long-term solutions to food insecurity and threats to public health. CTC aims to treat those severely malnourished in their homes, and build local capacity for better nutritional management.

The document outlines how CTC is implemented, how it differs from home-based treatment (HBT), and provides results from programmes to date. Findings show that CTC is well accepted by communities and authorities, and is cost-effective. Findings also reveal that CTC achieves better results than Therapeutic Feeding Centres (TFCs), with lower mortality rates and better coverage. However, a recent workshop highlighted key areas that require further research and discussion including: detailed cost analysis comparing CTC/HBT and standard centre-based approaches, establishing where, when and in which context CTC/HBT is most appropriate, and documenting the lessons learned, challenges and implications of transition and handover to Ministries of Health and communities. [adapted from author]