Food Fortification will Reduce Child Mortality & Malnutrition : Dr. Roland Kupka [ Senior Advisor, UNICEF ]

Ranchi, Jharkhand, 07 November 2014 ::  Dr. Roland Kupka, UNICEF Senior Advisor in UNICEF headquarters stressed the importance of fortification of commonly consumed food items like rice, wheat and salt with micronutrients like iron, iodine, vitamin-A and zinc. He was speaking at the State level Consultation on “hidden hunger”, organized by UNICEF.

“Over 80 countries including Nepal have legislation for mandatory fortification of wheat flower, maize flower and rice with micro nutrients. Rice is an ideal vehicle for fortification because it is a staple food for 300 crore people in the world, including Jharkhand”, he said. Dr. Roland suggested that fortification of food can also be done through micronutrient powder (MNP) containing iron, iodine, vitamin- A and zinc. This can be used during cooking in home and in school mid-day meal programme. “Supplementation and fortification of food are effective micronutrient deficiency control strategies. Many countries have demonstrated effectiveness of this intervention. Micronutrient supplementation is the best investment to advance human welfare as per Copenhagen Consensus, 2008” Dr. Kupka added.

Job Zachariah, Chief of UNICEF in Jharkhand said that micronutrient deficiencies are a major public health problem worldwide. “According to a World Bank study, malnutrition due to micronutrient deficiencies reduces Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country by 5%. Correcting iron, iodine and vitamin- A deficiencies can lead to reduction of child mortality by 40%, maternal mortality by one-fourth and malnutrition by 50%. Vitamin A supplementation among children alone reduces child mortality by 24%. Removing micronutrient deficiencies will also lead to increase in IQ of children by 10-15 points, besides increasing production and reducing public health cost”, Mr. Zachariah said.

Jee Hyun Rah, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF New Delhi made a presentation on the status of Vitamin A, Iron fortification and salt iodization in India and in Jharkhand.

Need to establish Nutrition Mission :

NRHM MD  Ashish Singhmar suggested setting up of a multi-sectoral coordination platform like Nutrition Mission to address the issues of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. “Malnutrition can be addressed by the convergent efforts of the departments of Social Welfare, Education along with the Health department”, he said. Mr Singhmar stressed the need for better delivery of programs like the weekly iron folic acid programme (WIFS), which covers all students of 6-12 classes in schools and all out-of-school girls.

Rajiv Ranjan, Assistant Director, ICDS spoke about micronutrient fortification in the ready to eat food provided to pregnant and lactating mothers and children through ICDS.

Deepika Sharma, UNICEF Nutrition specialist, Dr. Sumant Mishra (Director-in-Chief of Health), Dr. V. S. Prasad (Director of Health Services), Dr. Jaya (Nodal Officer of Adolescent Health), Dr. Hembrom (Nodal Officer of IEC), Dr. Vinod Kumar (Nodal Officer of Iodine) and representatives from Ekjut, Save the Children, and World Vision attended among others.