GAIN Infant and Young Child Nutrition Program
The First 24 Months of Life - The Window of Opportunity for Fighting Malnutrition
Without the proper nutrients from the beginning of their lives, infants suffer long-term health consequences. Their brains do not develop properly. They learn slowly. They are stunted.
To end the lifelong cycle of malnutrition that begins when infants do not receive proper nutrition, GAIN is supporting a program in infant and young child nutrition, funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Public-Private Partnerships to Reach Low-Income Populations with Nutritious Food Products
The program's goal is to improve the health and nutrition of ten million children under two years old in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean through improved feeding practices and the reduction of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It does this by supporting public and private partners to reach infants in low-income families with high-quality and affordable nutritious foods that complement breast milk from six months of age. All GAIN products meet the following international standards: WHO/UNICEF Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius.
Through the program, GAIN assists national governments with developing their infant and young child nutrition policies. GAIN also partners with universities, UN organizations, NGOs, financial organizations and not-for-profit venture capitalists to provide financial and technical support to local companies and public private partnerships commercializing nutritious food products. Products include fortified complementary foods (e.g. porridge), micronutrient powders (e.g. sachets of vitamins and minerals) and lipid-based nutrient supplements (e.g. nutritious spreads).
In March 2008, GAIN set up joint portfolios with the International Finance Corporation and Acumen. Both the GAIN-IFC Nutrition Trust and the GAIN-Acumen Nutrition Portfolio Fund offer financial and technical support to companies interested in developing new products, distribution channels and marketing approaches aimed at improving the nutrition of infants in low-income families. Investments aim to achieve both nutrition and business objectives on a sustained basis.
GAIN supports projects in infant and young child nutrition in China, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Kenya and India. Grants in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and the Philippines as well as an additional grant in Bangladesh have been approved by the GAIN Board and grant agreements are being negotiated.
