Press Release Archive
Project IDEA (Iron Deficiency Elimination Action)®:
Forging Effective Strategies to Combat Iron Deficiency

Press Release produced by the International Life Sciences Institute — Contact: Sonu Khera Deol

Expanded efforts are urgently needed to reduce iron deficiency, and the resulting impairment in physical productivity and cognitive capacity. Iron deficiency is a common form of malnutrition that affects more than 2 billion people globally.

To reduce iron deficiency, national level interventions, communication strategies, new alliances between public and private sector groups, and targeted interventions are needed to accelerate food fortification and improve supplementation strategies. This was the agreement among 200 researchers, public health professionals and food industry representatives from 45 countries attending an international conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 7-9, 2001. The participants also called for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children to adopt a global goal to substantially reduce the prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency by the end of the decade.

The conference, jointly sponsored by the International Life Sciences Institute Center for Health Promotion, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Micronutrient Initiative, and Emory University, allowed for review and discussion of country experiences and technical and practical barriers related to food fortification and iron supplementation strategies in developed and developing countries. It was agreed that all vital intervention strategies should be considered and used in conjunction with each other, when appropriate. Such strategies include the fortification of staple foods (e.g., wheat, corn, rice) and commonly used condiments with bioavailable iron fortificants; multi-nutrient fortification of infant foods; supplementation of vulnerable individuals such as infants and pregnant women; dietary education; and control and treatment of malaria and helminthic infections.

"Children who have iron deficiency anemia in infancy are at risk for long-lasting developmental disadvantage as compared to peers with better iron status" said Dr. Stanley Zlotkin, Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. Evidence showing that iron-fortified infant foods have been demonstrated to reduce iron deficiency anemia among low-income infants in the United States supported recommendations for fortification of infant foods. In addition, data from Venezuela show a significant reduction in iron deficiency following fortification of cereal flours. Studies from Vietnam and China indicate that iron-fortified condiments such as fish sauce and soy sauce respectively, can reduce iron deficiency anemia. Dr. Nguyen Cong Khan from the National Institute of Nutrition in Hanoi, Vietnam, reported that fortified fish sauce reduced iron deficiency by 33% within 6 months.

Thus, noting the need for additional research and expansion of national monitoring and evaluation systems, it was emphasized that there is significant programmatic and technical knowledge and experience from around the world that confirm the practical advantages of integrating known interventions. The participants were urged not to delay implementing strategies that would benefit significant proportions of the population. Experts at the meeting agreed on five key actions:

1. Governmental and non-governmental organizations, international and bilateral agencies, the private sector and civil society need to recognize the health and economic consequences of iron deficiency and prioritize its alleviation as a major public health initiative by allocating appropriate resources.
   
   
2. National governments have an economic, social and moral obligation to implement and support effective, affordable measures currently available for prevention of iron and related micronutrient deficiencies.
   
   
3. Culturally appropriate interventions must be multifaceted, integrating fortification of cereal flours and other foods with preventive multi-nutrient supplementation of vulnerable groups, complemented by dietary diversification and public health measures. Pilot efforts are insufficient.
   
   
4. Prevention and control programs for iron, folate, and other micronutrients should be implemented in all developing countries, emphasizing the most cost-effective combination of fortification of suitable food vehicles, such as cereal flours with bioavailable iron fortificants, as well as supplementation of infants, children, adolescent girls and women of childbearing age, especially during pregnancy.
   
   
5. The outcome document of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children ("A World Fit for Children"), should include the following goal: "Reduce by one third the prevalence of anemia, including iron deficiency, by 2010; and accelerate progress towards reduction of other micronutrient deficiencies, through food fortification and supplementation".

Abstracts from the conference are now available on the internet at the www.ilsi.org.*

*Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.

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This page last updated May 03, 2002

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