Report urges targeted investment for childhood micronutrient supplementation

Apr 22 2013

Noting "[t]his week leaders from around the world convened in Ireland for the Dublin Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Climate Justice," Kanika Bahl, a managing director at Results for Development Institute (R4D), writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, "A new report from [R4D] calls on the global community to creatively scale access to [micronutrient powders (MNPs)] and make a significant contribution toward reaching the 95 percent of children still in need." Providing recommendations for integration, innovation, and funding, "[t]he report calls on countries and the global community to provide ~$200 million annually to deliver MNPs to all children in high-burden countries targeted for micronutrient supplementation, consistent with recommendations from the World Bank and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement," she notes. "Regardless of income levels or geography, it is clear that all parents should have the opportunity to provide their infants with the critical nutrients essential for healthy development," she continues (4/18).