This supplement is the fourth in a series, first published as a special supplement of the Food and Nutrition Bulletin in June 2009, devoted to accelerating investments to address malnutrition in the 1000-day window of opportunity from a child’s conception to her second birthday.

The Sub-group on Formulations of the Ten Year Strategy to Reduce Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition Working Group reviewed the literature on recommendations for fortified complementary foods and complementary food supplements that have been used successfully to impact nutrient status and growth4. Additionally a joint WHO, UNICEF, WFP and UNHCR Consultation on the Dietary Management of Moderate Malnutrition in Under-5 Children that was held in October 20085 to determine what diets should be ecommended to feed moderately malnourished children.

Cocoa is cultivated in more than 40 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Over 90% of global cocoa production cultivated by an estimated 5.5 million smallholders and most live below the poverty line and lack access to nutritious food. This concept brief analyzes cocoa production statistics compared with nutritional data of three major producer countries – Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia. It then demonstrates the consequences of under-nutrition for the sector.

Applying Dietary Assessment Methods for Food Fortication and Other Nutrition Programs

Dietary assessment data are essential for designing, implementing and evaluating food fortification and other food-based nutrition programs. Planners and managers must understand the validity, usefulness and cost tradeoffs of employing alternative dietary assessment methods to obtain requisite programming information, but little guidance exists for doing so.