Improving nutrition
China - Flour Fortification in the West Region
The goal of the project is to reduce the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in the West Region of China by wheat flour fortification and to facilitate the launch of the national mandatory wheat flour fortification program.
Target group
Targeted populations are the “low-income” population which is the lowest tercile income group in rural areas and those “at-risk” of iron deficiency anemia
Food vehicle
wheat flour
Outputs
Increase production of fortified flour by 180 factories to an output of 4,374,000 metric tons per year for distribution to low-income, at-risk populations in western China. Distribution will occur in a phased manner so that by year three 27.6 million population will be reached.
Coverage
In five years 59 million people in 12 west provinces will be protected by the project, of whom 49 million are at-risk.
Date
11/01/2003
Description
The Project will support the implementation of a national food fortification program to fortify wheat flour at an affordable price for low-income, at-risk populations in five provinces in western China. Wheat flour will be fortified with a multi-vitamin/mineral mix. During this three-year Project, fortified flour will reach five northwest provinces, namely Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxiu and Shanxi. During the two following years, seven other western provinces, including Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan and Chonqin, will be covered by fortified wheat flour distribution. Fifty nine million people in 12 provinces in the western region will be reached by year 5; among them 49 million are considered to be at-risk of micronutrient deficiencies. Funding from GAIN will support the first three years of a five year program and will supplement cash and in-kind contributions from the Government of China and the private sector.
This is one of the two GAIN-supported projects in China: the other is fortified soy sauce.
Key achievements
> New grant agreement for the two province project not yet signed
but milestones reached under the first agreement are: Partnerships
built among PNDC, China CDC, the State Grain Association (SGA), UNICEF
and the China Grain and Oils Association
> National flour fortification standard drafted
> 78 mills licensed to participate in the project
> Fortified wheat flour commercially available
> Communications material developped and TV and radio spots aired.
In-Country project advisor
United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Beijing
