In the ideal situation, use of WHO therapeutic guidelines for management of severe mal- nutrition 5 and a continuum of care for malnourished chil- dren 6 through community therapeutic care programmes would successfully improve survival in children without HIV infection. An alarming consequence of the HIV epidemic is an increase in the need by severely malnourished, seriously ill children for facility-based treatment. Ready-to-use therapeutic foods that facilitate effective home-based therapy have resulted in recovery rates for uncomplicated severe malnutrition of more than 90%, with reported case-fatality rates of less than 5%; 7