Fortify West Africa: Fortifying cooking oil and flour for survival and development

En français     No português

Helen Keller International (HKI) announces the Fortify West Africa initiative which aims to contribute to the survival and development of women and children in the 8-nation Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (known by the French acronym UEMOA).

Deficiencies in essential vitamins and minerals (vitamin and mineral deficiencies - VMDs), such as vitamin A, iron and folic acid, are major causes of premature death, disability and reduced work capacity throughout the world. VMDs account for 10% of the global disease burden. One of the most cost-effective and sustainable strategies to control VMDs is to engage private sector food companies in  food fortification, and to promote wide consumption of these foods by those at risk. Food fortification is a common practice in North America and Europe, and HKI has led efforts to bring this technology to sub-Saharan Africa.

Cooking oil and wheat flour are excellent vehicles for fortification with vitamin A (cooking oil) and iron and folic acid (wheat flour). They are both centrally processed in most countries in the region, providing an entry point for the fortification to take place. Cooking oil has been proven to be the easiest food vehicle to fortify with vitamin A, and numerous studies in West Africa have shown a high level of market penetration. Wheat flour is a good vehicle because it is widely consumed on a daily basis in many forms, and fortification has minimal or no perceptible effect on taste and texture.

In partnership with the professional association of cooking oil producers of the UEMOA zone (AIFO-UEMOA) and the West African Health Organization, HKI launched a UEMOA-wide cooking oil fortification initiative in June 2007 with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Government of Taiwan, the Micronutrient Initiative (MI) and, most importantly, the industries themselves. Click here to read the press release.

In June 2007, HKI signed a memorandum of understanding with the President of the UEMOA Commission to ensure fortification of cooking oil in the 8 UEMOA countries. (Click here to read the news bulletin.) The 8 member countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo) have a total population of 85 million, of whom 15.6 million are children under 5. These countries have some of the highest under-five mortality rates in the world.

From oil to flour – with vitamin A fortification of cooking oil underway in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali and regional norms being developed, the momentum for vitamin and mineral fortification of food continues to build. HKI is harnessing this momentum to expand the fight against VMDs in the region to build a wheat flour fortification strategy. The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation have committed another $1.6 million to support this effort, which will complement funding from GAIN and USAID.

At the third annual third annual meeting for the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York in September 2007, the Presidents of AIFO-UEMOA and HKI made a commitment, entitled Fortify West Africa,  to reach at least 70% of the UEMOA population with fortified foods by the year 2010.  At the closing plenary, Tom Kalil, head of CGI’s Global Health track, cited the Fortify West Africa commitment as one that typified the spirit of CGI – an innovative partnership that is implementing a practical solution to a pressing global health problem.

Angora Tano, President of AIFO-UEMOA, former US President Bill Clinton, and Kathy Spahn, President of HKI announce Fortify West Africa commitment at Clinton Global Initiative.