Kenya has scaled up food fortification. [Photo/scalingupnutrition.org]
Aims to fight malnutrition through a Food fortification programme have gotten a big boost through a $10 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Spearheaded by the Strengthening African Processors (SAPFF) the programme is being implemented in Nigeria, Tanzania and Kenya. The aim is to enhance among members of the cereals association profitability, efficiency and competitiveness.
Nick Hutchinson, Cereal Millers Association chairman welcomed the initiative stating it will boost the processing capacities of our members giving Kenyans access to healthier and more nutritious foods.
Poor nutrition is a prime factor accounting for a third of deaths of children under five. In Kenya, more than one in four children under the age of five has stunted growth.
Cereal Millers Association in collaboration with non-profit international development partners in Food Solutions and TechnoServe will have access to technical and operational assistance worth Sh1 billion.
The SAPFF director, Rizwan Yusufali, said in a statement that the programme aims at building capacity of Kenyan cereals manufacturers to fortify maize and wheat flour with important nutrients.
This will be done by addressing challenges that millers face in the areas of sourcing, efficiency and capacity, which can hinder their efforts to improve food fortification.
The CMA members that will have access expertise from the programme include The Hershey Company, Cargill, General Mills, Buhler, DSM and Ardent Mills