Strategies

Food fortification is one of several strategies countries can use to address vitamin and mineral deficiencies. These strategies should form an integral part of a country's overall effort to protect and improve the nutritional status of its citizens. The aim is to improve the supply, access, consumption and utilization of a variety of high quality and safe food, in adequate amounts, for all groups of the population.

In addition to food fortification, countries can implement micronutrient supplementation, dietary diversification, and a range of public health measures.

Food Fortification involves the addition of minute quantities of vitamins and minerals to commonly consumed foods during processing. It is considered a short- to medium-term intervention that requires little in the way of dietary changes, since commonly consumed foods are usually fortified. Implementation challenges include building partnerships between the public and private sectors, and quality control and monitoring to ensure compliance with standards.

Supplementation involves delivering high doses of one or more nutrient on a periodic basis to vulnerable individuals and groups. It delivers results quickly, and is an effective strategy to address certain deficiencies - notably Vitamin A, iron and folate in specific target groups, such as young children and pregnant and lactating women. However, implementation challenges may reduce the impact of large scale efforts. For example, compliance and supply chain management hinder the effectiveness of iron supplementation, whereas high costs may limit the long-term sustainability of Vitamin A supplementation programs.

Dietary diversification strategies have many advantages. Eating a wider range of foods not only ensures consumption of needed vitamins and minerals, but also gives access to other elements, such as antioxidants and probiotics that occur naturally in food and have important health benefits. While dietary diversification strategies promise long-term sustainability, they require changes in agricultural practices and food habits and can take a long time to show results.

Other Strategies. The promotion of exclusive breast feeding for 6 months, and continued breast feeding with complementary, high-quality foods up to the age of 24 months is recommended as a key strategy to protect infants and very young children from VMDs. Strategies to improve the nutrient quality of crops, known as biofortification are showing promise.

Efforts are also underway to promote the protection, cultivation and consumption of traditional and indigenous plants, through institution and initiatives such as the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, Bioversity International, and the Global Corp Diversity Trust. Over the long term, these strategies hold great promise as sustainable interventions. Given the current high levels of VMD, they are however not a substitute for fortification or supplementation.

Public health measures, including improved sanitation and immunization are also important to prevent deficiencies in minerals and vitamins, since diarrhoea and illness can negatively affect dietary intakes and absorption.