Short description

This project focuses on fortification of locally processed cereal flours with iron so as to combat iron deficiency anemia in children. Cereal flours will be fortified on a small scale by adding a diluted micro nutrient pre-blend.

The problem we aim to solve

Iron deficiency anemia is the form of hidden hunger to be tackled by this project. Reason: iron deficiency continues to be the most common nutritional cause of anemia worldwide, affecting as many as 4 to 5 billion people. Iron-deficiency anemia affects three-quarters of children age 6 to 59 months and half of women of reproductive age in Uganda. In children, anemia leads to a significant slowdown in cognitive development, decreased physical activity, and reduced resistance to disease. Anemia in women leads to chronic fatigue, pregnancy complications, premature birth, low birth weight, maternal mortality, and impairs productivity, earnings, and care-giving abilities. Thus, iron deficiency anemia impacts significantly on morbidity, mortality, and national development.

Our solution

Most households in Mubende municipality rely mainly on whole grains or cereal flours from staple foods such as maize and millet for food. The women and children in these situations are nearly always anemic. The amount of absorb-able iron in their diet is also low and the diet itself inhibits iron absorption because of high levels of phytic acid in whole grain cereals and polyphenols in tea and coffee, which inhibit iron absorption, and the low intakes of meat and citrus fruits, which enhance iron absorption.

Living mostly in rural and peri-urban areas, people in Mubende Municipality harvest grains like maize, rice, sorghum and millet, or starchy roots like cassava and sweet potatoes that are grown on small plots of land. These foods are then dried in the sun, before being ground to flour in a small, local mill. Some can afford only to hand pound the grain to a coarse flour. In peri-urban or suburban areas, people often buy grain at the market and grind it to a flour at a local mill. The flour may be cooked to a porridge or dough like consistency (posho), and more often than not it is eaten without fresh meat or vegetables.

This project thus focuses on fortification of the locally processed cereal flours with iron premixes and encouraging the residents including school administrators to grow and feed children on fresh vegetables so as to combat iron deficiency anemia in children and women.