Improving nutrition through partnership

A WORLD without malnutrition is the underlying vision for the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). In 2002, this organisation was set up to create a platform by which the public and the private sectors can work together to address nutrition issues globally. Since then, they have worked in more than 30 countries, benefiting approximately 789 million people in Asia and Africa. The organisation hopes to increase its reach to 1 billion people by 2015.

GAIN’s goal is to make nutritious foods abundant in vitamins and minerals available through its programmes. They try to reach large populations with fortified staple foods and condiments such as wheat flour, maize meal, sugar, vegetable oil, milk, soy sauce, flavourings, and fish sauce. An example is its partnership with UNICEF to combat iodine deficiency through salt iodisation in 13 countries where it is needed most.

Premix rich in nutrients

To support global food fortification projects, it established the GAIN Premix Facility (GPF) by providing services to source and certify premixes – commercially prepared blend of vitamins and minerals – for fortifying staple foods.

The organisation also delivers fortified food products to specific populations groups, e.g. infants, children, pregnant women and nursing mothers, refugees, remote rural populations, people afflicted with infectious diseases and those in extreme poverty.

Providing access to a quality diversified and affordable diet is its fourth pillar of work. GAIN seeks to accomplish this by linking the agricultural production system with nutrition to produce not only more food but better foods rich in essential micronutrients and proteins such as fruits and vegetables, eggs and dairy and small grains and pulses.

Access via the marketplace

GAIN is working through the marketplace to address undernutrition, and increasingly, overnutrition and obesity. New solutions to address malnutrition are needed, and businesses have committed a partnership to research new nutrition solutions together. The organisation’s Business Platform for Nutrition Research aims to bring together several of the world’s largest companies which together can explore gaps in the current evidence base for nutrition and catalyse new investments in products, tools and technologies that promote health, nutritious and affordable solutions for all consumers.

The organisation is also helping businesses improve employee nutrition, develop more nutritious food products and increase awareness of nutrition in communities. It is also exploring how more nutritious foods can reach populations caught up in emergencies and natural disasters.

Furthermore, it has already succeeded in fortification of basic cereals like corn, maize, and rice. This is especially important in many parts of the world where populations get 60% to 80% of their calories from one staple food. In Egypt, for example, flat bread is an important part of the local diet and is subsidised by the government. GAIN helped fortify the flour used for this bread with folate and iron, without increasing the price of the end product. By adding nutrients to these staple foods, they can improve levels of vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc and vitamin A intake that otherwise may require a more diverse and costly diet.

Well connected

Public and private partnerships are integral to GAIN’s work. The organisation has alliances with more than 6Adidas