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Objective: To compare an improved corn-soya blend (CSB+) with a ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) to test the hypothesis that satisfactory recovery rate will be achieved with CSB+ or RUSF when these foods provide 50 % of the child's energy requirement, the 50 % remaining coming from usual diet. Design: A comparative efficacy trial study was conducted with moderately wasted children, using a controlled randomized design, with parallel assignment for RUSF or CSB+. Every child received a daily ration of 167 kJ (40 kcal)/kg body weight during 56 d with a follow-up performed every 14 d. Every caregiver received nutrition counselling at enrolment and at each follow-up visit. Setting: Health districts of Mvog-Beti and Evodoula in the Centre region of Cameroon. Subjects: Eight hundred and thirty-three children aged 6-59 months were screened and eighty-one malnourished children (weight-for-height Z-score between −3 and −2) aged 25-59 months were selected. Results: Of children treated with CSB+ and RUSF, 73 % (95 % CI 59 %, 87 %) and 85 % (95 % CI 73 %, 97 %), respectively, recovered from moderate acute malnutrition, with no significant difference between groups. The mean duration of treatment required to achieve recovery was 44 d in the RUSF group and 51 d in the CSB+ group (log-rank test, P = 0·0048). Conclusions: There was no significant difference in recovery rate between the groups. Both CSB+ and RUSF were relatively successful for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition in children. Despite the relatively low ration size provided, the recovery rates observed for both groups were comparable to or higher than those reported in previous studies, a probable effect of nutrition education. Keywords Moderate acute malnutritionCorn-soya blend Ready-to-use supplementary food Child malnutrition is a major global health problem, contributing to increased morbidity and mortality, impaired intellectual development and working capacity, and increased risk of disease in adulthood (1) . Twenty per cent of the 7·6 million deaths per year recorded among children under 5 years of age can be attributed to undernutrition (2) . Moderate wasting and severe wasting represent acute forms of undernutrition, and children suffering from them face a markedly increased risk of death. It is estimated that moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and severe acute malnutrition (SAM) affect 52 million of children under 5 years of age worldwide. MAM is defined as weight-for-height between −3 SD and −2 SD below the median weight-for-height of the WHO child growth standards (weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) between −3 and −2) without oedema (3) . Supplementary feeding programmes are designed to treat MAM and prevent the progression from MAM to SAM (4) , and thus have the potential to reduce child mortality and morbidity.A wide range of nutritional products are currently used to treat MAM (5) . These include fortified blended flours, especially corn-soya blend (CSB) prepared as porridge; BP5 biscuits; and lipid-based nutrient supplements, espe...

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<p>Children with moderate malnutrition have a high risk of mortality and MAM is associated with a high number of nutrition-related deaths. If some of these children suffering from MAM do not receive adequate support, they may progress towards severe acute malnutrition (SAM), which is a life-threatening condition. Therefore, the management of MAM should be a public health priority<strong></strong></p><p>A well-balanced diet was prepared based on the recommendation of WHO for the treatment of moderate acute malnourished children aged 6 -59 months.  According to the formulae, nine products of RUSF were prepared using cereals, legumes, seeds, oil, sugar, and vitamin and mineral premix. Three products of RUSF MSPe, PBPe, and ISPe were found to be better among the nine products by the mothers after sensory evaluation.</p><p>Based on sensory evaluation in children, RUSF   MSPe was found to be the best among the three products. The product was analyzed for proximate composition, mineral, vitamin, digestibility of protein.  The protein, fat, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, total ash, vitamin C, Vitamin A,  iron, calcium and zinc of 100 g of the product were found to be  15.9g, 33.7g, 44.3g, 6.6g, 2.2g, 54.6 mg, 855 µg,  14.1 mg,  66.6 g and  12.4 µg respectively. The diet can supply 544.5 Kcal/100 g. The energy contributed by the protein, fat, and carbohydrate was found to be 11.68%, 55.7%, and 32.62% of total Kcals respectively. The protein digestibility adjusted to the chemical index PDCASS was 0.95.</p>Hence, the prepared RUSF is in accordance with the specification given by WHO which could be effective in the treatment of moderate acute malnourished children after the clinical trial.