By Sanjay Suri
LONDON, Jun 11 2003 (IPS)

A new initiative has been launched to deliver better food to hundreds of millions of people within just a few years.

A new initiative has been launched to deliver better food to hundreds of millions of people within just a few years.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has launched its new initiative in China, Morocco, South Africa and Vietnam, but many more countries are due to be added at a meeting in Geneva next month, GAIN executive director Rolf Carriere told IPS.

The Gates Foundation and USAID are funding GAIN, which is set up as a non-governmental organisation. It has got going with a capital of 50 million dollars. The United Nations and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are supporting its programme, a note from the group says.

GAIN is a relatively small initiative in relation to the World Food Programme of the UN, which is engaged in reaching food to some of the most needy areas of the world such as Ethiopia and Iraq.

But Carriere sees the new initiative as a vital complement to the UN programme.

"I’d say that people even in starving parts of the world need not just food but food fortified with essential nutrients such as iron, iodine, zinc, Vitamin A and folic acid," Carriere said. "It can make all the difference to boosting health, vitality and intelligence."

But in a crisis situation the first priority would simply have to be to reach available food to people who need it, he said.

The GAIN initiative is simple and can make a little money go a long way, Carriere said. "Like you spray salt with iodine, you can add iron to flour at the flour mills," he said. Other foods can be fortified with iron and other nutrients in several other ways. And iron seems to be at the heart of the new needs.

"A third of the world’s population suffers from amnesia, and this affects particularly women and children," Carriere said. "And that is about two billion people."

Traditional methods such as encouraging dietary changes and reaching iron supplements to undernourished populations have their limitations.

Carriere said: "The reach of iron supplements cannot extend beyond the reach of a health service, which means people who need the support most will miss it. We believe fortification of foods is a better way. People get their requirements through staple food, it’s almost like doing good by stealth."

Following is how some of the projects are being carried out:

– The South African government will fortify moth maize and wheat flour for 45 million consumers over the next six to 18 months. Children will get about half their daily need for Vitamin A through the fortified staple food.

– In China GAIN grants will help production of soy sauce fortified with iron, which could reach 360 million people by the end of a five-year programme. The government will also fortify flour in the western region of the country to reach 49 million people.

– Wheat flour, edible oil and milk will be enriched for 23 low-income consumers in Morocco over the next 18 months. The agro industry in Morocco and in other countries has launched several such programmes already.

– In Vietnam iron fortified fish sauce could reach a target of 42 million people at risk of deficiencies. These projects under way are being supported by a GAIN budget of just 15 million dollars.

GAIN is promoting such agreements by bringing private industry, government departments and members of civil society together, said Carriere. "Companies are not likely to do this on their own if they think it would put them at a disadvantage compared to others," he said.

But support to companies prepared to add nutrients is bringing quick results, he said.

GAIN was launched in May last year and became operative in October. By the end of this year it hopes to have ten funded projects on their way.

The aid money will not be used to support through the backdoor manufacturers in the developed world, Carriere said. "We are working through national fortification alliances in countries that submit proposals, and with local industry. Consumer protection agencies, civil society, activists, WHO and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), will all have a role to play."

Several countries already have fortification schemes going. Jordan has had a fortification programme running for years to counter anaemia, and now plans to expand its programme. Mills are given a vitamin and mineral premix by the government, and they just grind it into the flour.

The programme, which has been underway only for a few months, is not expected to have results to show until much later. But when they show they could be hard to link to any single initiative. Nevertheless GAIN believes that significant improvement can come from spending just a few pennies per person per year.

Some of the other countries where GAIN plans to support fortification programmes are Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Zambia, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic.

Excerpt:

By Sanjay Suri
LONDON, Jun 11 2003 (IPS)

A new initiative has been launched to deliver better food to hundreds of millions of people within just a few years.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has launched its new initiative in China, Morocco, South Africa and Vietnam, but many more countries are due to be added at a meeting in Geneva next month, GAIN executive director Rolf Carriere told IPS.

The Gates Foundation and USAID are funding GAIN, which is set up as a non-governmental organisation. It has got going with a capital of 50 million dollars. The United Nations and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are supporting its programme, a note from the group says.

GAIN is a relatively small initiative in relation to the World Food Programme of the UN, which is engaged in reaching food to some of the most needy areas of the world such as Ethiopia and Iraq.

But Carriere sees the new initiative as a vital complement to the UN programme.

"I’d say that people even in starving parts of the world need not just food but food fortified with essential nutrients such as iron, iodine, zinc, Vitamin A and folic acid," Carriere said. "It can make all the difference to boosting health, vitality and intelligence."

But in a crisis situation the first priority would simply have to be to reach available food to people who need it, he said.

The GAIN initiative is simple and can make a little money go a long way, Carriere said. "Like you spray salt with iodine, you can add iron to flour at the flour mills," he said. Other foods can be fortified with iron and other nutrients in several other ways. And iron seems to be at the heart of the new needs.

"A third of the world’s population suffers from amnesia, and this affects particularly women and children," Carriere said. "And that is about two billion people."

Traditional methods such as encouraging dietary changes and reaching iron supplements to undernourished populations have their limitations.

Carriere said: "The reach of iron supplements cannot extend beyond the reach of a health service, which means people who need the support most will miss it. We believe fortification of foods is a better way. People get their requirements through staple food, it’s almost like doing good by stealth."

Following is how some of the projects are being carried out:

– The South African government will fortify moth maize and wheat flour for 45 million consumers over the next six to 18 months. Children will get about half their daily need for Vitamin A through the fortified staple food.

– In China GAIN grants will help production of soy sauce fortified with iron, which could reach 360 million people by the end of a five-year programme. The government will also fortify flour in the western region of the country to reach 49 million people.

– Wheat flour, edible oil and milk will be enriched for 23 low-income consumers in Morocco over the next 18 months. The agro industry in Morocco and in other countries has launched several such programmes already.

– In Vietnam iron fortified fish sauce could reach a target of 42 million people at risk of deficiencies. These projects under way are being supported by a GAIN budget of just 15 million dollars.

GAIN is promoting such agreements by bringing private industry, government departments and members of civil society together, said Carriere. "Companies are not likely to do this on their own if they think it would put them at a disadvantage compared to others," he said.

But support to companies prepared to add nutrients is bringing quick results, he said.

GAIN was launched in May last year and became operative in October. By the end of this year it hopes to have ten funded projects on their way.

The aid money will not be used to support through the backdoor manufacturers in the developed world, Carriere said. "We are working through national fortification alliances in countries that submit proposals, and with local industry. Consumer protection agencies, civil society, activists, WHO and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), will all have a role to play."

Several countries already have fortification schemes going. Jordan has had a fortification programme running for years to counter anaemia, and now plans to expand its programme. Mills are given a vitamin and mineral premix by the government, and they just grind it into the flour.

The programme, which has been underway only for a few months, is not expected to have results to show until much later. But when they show they could be hard to link to any single initiative. Nevertheless GAIN believes that significant improvement can come from spending just a few pennies per person per year.

Some of the other countries where GAIN plans to support fortification programmes are Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Zambia, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic.

Excerpt: