New York, NY, December 5, 2025 —  The International Rescue Committee (IRC) today announced the public launch of SCALE – Scenario Costing and Analysis for Large-scale Efficiency in Nutrition, an open-access tool that allows governments and humanitarian partners to model the cost, coverage, and trade-offs of different nutrition treatment protocols.

The IRC is inviting governments and other early adopters to help shape and test SCALE, working in partnership with IRC advisors. This phase will help inform the use and growth of the tool, particularly for governments. 

Developed by the IRC’s Best Use of Resources and Nutrition Research teams at Airbel Impact Lab with human-centered design support from Ideate Innovation and OMBU Inc., SCALE enables users to compare resource needs, optimize treatment reach within a given budget, and identify the most efficient ways to deliver lifesaving care for children facing malnutrition. 

Each year, acute malnutrition—or wasting—affects 45 million children under five and claims two million lives. Although ready-to-use therapeutic foods have been proven to save lives, they reach only one in four children who need them. With global funding tightening and the closure of USAID, decision-makers urgently need evidence-based ways to stretch every dollar.

“SCALE gives ministries of health and partners a practical, data-driven way to plan smarter, not smaller,” said Dr. Jeannie Annan, Chief Research and Innovation Officer at the IRC. “By integrating cost and protocol data in one platform, it helps leaders see what’s possible within their budgets—and ultimately reach more children with effective treatment.”

Piloted with UNICEF Kenya and the Kenyan Ministry of Health, and refined through workshops in Nigeria and Pakistan, the tool has already guided real-world decision-making. Users can input local cost data, define funding ceilings, and instantly compare simplified versus standard dosing, admission and discharge criteria, or inclusion of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) treatment.

This next phase will help to make SCALE even more effective as a tool for governments and NGOs. Interested partners should reach out to costanalysis@rescue.org about testing and piloting the tool, hand in hand with IRC experts. 

SCALE is now live at www.scaletool.org and linked through the IRC’s Dioptra Consortium platform for cost-efficiency in humanitarian programs. Support and partnership in applying SCALE to your work is available from IRC staff.