Improving nutrition
Bolivia - National Food Fortification Program
The goal of the national program is to improve the nutritional status of the Bolivian population, particularly children under five years of age and women of reproductive age, through the fortification of wheat flour and vegetable oil. It is expected that the prevalence of iron and vitamin A deficiency and the incidence of neural tube defects (NTD) will be reduced.
Target group
Children under five years of age, women of reproductive age
Food vehicle
Oil, wheat flour
Outputs
* Develop and put into action the legislative instruments for the implementation of the national food fortification program
* Reinforce the production and distribution of fortified wheat flour and implement the production and distribution of fortified vegetable oil, assuring the availability of quality low-cost products to the Bolivian population
* Reinforce the food control and regulatory monitoring system and assure its operation at all levels of the food fortification program (i.e. production, marketing and retail, etc.)
* Raise the collective consciousness at the consumer level on the value of fortified foods, in order to generate a demand for quality-assured fortified foods
Coverage
6.9 million people
Date
09/24/2007
Description
The goal will be achieved if one hundred percent of the domestically
produced wheat flour and vegetable oil, and ninety percent of all wheat
flour and vegetable oil (including imported products) are fortified
according to national fortification standards by the year 2006. The
achievement of this goal is expected to reduce the prevalence of iron
deficiency from 33% to 20% in children under five years of age, and
from 18% to 10% among women of reproductive age, and the prevalence of
vitamin A deficiency from 11% to less than 5% in children under five
years of age, and result in a 20% reduction of NTD rates between years
2004 and 2008.
The national food fortification program aims to assure the optimal fortification of all wheat flour, vegetable oil and milk designated for consumption by the Bolivian population within a five year period. The GAIN-supported project will ensure the development and establishment of the needed legal framework, including a national law on food fortification and revised technical regulations adapted from the Codex Alimentarius. The project will also support the further development of infrastructure for food control, with public health authorities and other relevant institutions, to assure full compliance by the food production sector. All participating industries will have the capacity and commitment to fortify their products and apply the correct methods and procedures for handling, packaging and labelling, and storing the fortified products, and implement an active quality control system. Strong food control and regulatory monitoring systems will be put in place at the borders to assure compliance of imported products with national standards. Communication and marketing campaigns will be implemented to raise the level of consumer awareness about the benefits of fortified food and to generate demand for appropriate products.
In-Country project advisor
World Bank
