'It will create momentum': What plans to scale food fortification mean
A resolution to accelerate food fortification was adopted at the 76th World Health Assembly — but what will it involve? GAIN's Lawrence Haddad spoke to Devex about the next steps.
Food fortification, where key micronutrients are added to common food staples, is recommended by the World Health Organization as a way to “fight the consequences of vitamin and mineral deficiencies” — including iodine deficiency disorders, anemia and iron deficiency, and neural tube defects. But it does not currently happen at the scale health agencies would like. It’s a cost effective intervention that “reaches the very poorest,” Lawrence Haddad, executive director of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, told Devex. But despite that, more countries are not fortifying staple foods than those that are, he added. “So it feels like a real missed opportunity and unfinished business if you like.” This was the motivation, Haddad said, for delegates at the 76th World Health Assembly last month to adopt a resolution to accelerate “safe and effective food fortification.” The resolution was put forward by Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Israel, Malaysia, Paraguay, and the 27 member states of the European Union, and it was supported by over 70 civil society organizations. It calls for member states to recognize the importance of healthy diets and work collaboratively with industry to consider implementing food fortification policies, among other measures. The resolution also calls upon the director-general of WHO to produce a report on the global status of food fortification and supplementation, and use it to “identify global and national priorities.” Haddad spoke to Devex at WHA about the resolution and what it means. He said it will create momentum and “inspire” by giving policymakers who want to fortify food “an additional pillar” to fall back on. Watch the video to hear more from GAIN’s Chief Executive Lawrence Haddad on the future of food fortification. Visit Food Secured — a series that explores how to save the food system and where experts share groundbreaking solutions for a sustainable and resilient future. This is an editorially independent piece produced as part of our Food Secured series, which is funded by partners. To learn more about this series and our partners, click here.
Food fortification, where key micronutrients are added to common food staples, is recommended by the World Health Organization as a way to “fight the consequences of vitamin and mineral deficiencies” — including iodine deficiency disorders, anemia and iron deficiency, and neural tube defects.
But it does not currently happen at the scale health agencies would like. It’s a cost effective intervention that “reaches the very poorest,” Lawrence Haddad, executive director of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, told Devex. But despite that, more countries are not fortifying staple foods than those that are, he added. “So it feels like a real missed opportunity and unfinished business if you like.”
This was the motivation, Haddad said, for delegates at the 76th World Health Assembly last month to adopt a resolution to accelerate “safe and effective food fortification.”
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Naomi Mihara is an Associate Editor for Devex, working on creative and audiovisual projects. She has a background in journalism and international development, having previously served as an assistant correspondent for Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun and as a communications officer for the International Organization for Migration in Southeast Asia. She holds a master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism from Bournemouth University.
Helen Lock is a former associate editor at Devex, responsible for commissioning, editing, and producing content on the partnerships editorial team. She has seven years of experience in journalism as a multimedia content producer for an international advocacy organization and as a reporter and section editor for U.K. national newspapers. As a freelance journalist, she covered cities, tech for good, global development, and education. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Manchester and a master’s in Journalism from Goldsmiths, University of London.
