Health impacts

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies account for an estimated 7.3% of the "global burden of disease".

For an estimated 2 billion people in developing and developed nations, the consequences of malnutrition are premature death, illness and impaired physical and mental abilities. Every year, vitamin and mineral deficiencies cause 1 million children to die before the age of five, 50,000 women to die during or soon after childbirth, 19 million infants to be born with impaired mental capacity and 100,000 infants to be born with preventable physical defects.

Iron deficiency is the most widespread health problem in the world, impairing normal mental development in 40-60% of infants in the developing world, debilitating the health and energies of 500 million women, and leading to more than 60,000 deaths during childbirth a year. In the worst affected countries it can account for lost productivity of up to 2% of GDP.

Vitamin A deficiency affects 40-60% of children under-five in the developing world, compromising immune systems, and causing a million deaths a year.

Iodine deficiency in pregnancy is the most common cause of preventable mental retardation and brain damage on the planet - in 60 countries it is associated with a 10-15% lowering of average intellectual capacity.

Folate deficiency is responsible for 200,000 severe birth defects every year in developing countries and may be associated with 1 in every 10 deaths from heart disease in adults.

Adding vitamins and minerals to staple foods that are eaten everyday by vulnerable populations does not require health care systems, costs a few cents per person per year, and requires little or no change in behaviour by the consumer.