In this stratified trial, children presenting at the health center and fulfilling the inclusion criteria will randomly assigned to study groups.~The supplementation will be done on daily basis according to the child's weight for a maximum of 12 weeks, at which point the recovery assessment is done. Each child will be subsequently followed up to 24 weeks for recovery assessment.~Follow-up visits will be done at the health center every week for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) children and every two weeks for moderate acute malnutrition (SAM) children
The goal of this experimental study is to test the efficacy of a new formulation - The microbiome-directed food (MDF) to treat acute malnutrition among children aged 6 to 23 months. The main questions it aims to answer are:~Does treating children with moderate or severe uncomplicated malnutrition using MDF leads to higher programmatic recovery rate compared to standard of care ?~Does treating children with moderate or severe uncomplicated malnutrition using MDF leads to higher sustained recovery rate compared to standard of care ? The MDF will be compared to Ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) and a locally available food (LAF) for moderately malnourished children, and to Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for severely malnourished children to see the effects on recovery and sustained recovery rate.