Improving the Quality and Accessibility of Fortified Complementary Foods

Overview

Through a US$1.83 million grant, GAIN is supporting Andhra Pradesh (AP) Foods, a government-owned food manufacturer, to produce and supply fortified blended food (Nutrimix) to the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). The food is a blend of cereals, pulses, oil and sugar processed into a powder form and fortified with vitamins and minerals that can be given to children 6 to 36 months. The project aims to reduce anemia caused by insufficient iron among this age group by 30 percent and to reach 2.2 million children. It hopes to create a model that will be adopted by other state governments.

Goal

The aim of this project is to improve the quality of complementary food provided to children by the ICDS in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Impact

The major objective of this project is to establish a centralized model for manufacturing high quality fortified blended food for ICDS that will serve the whole state within the new budgetary allocation for ICDS food programs. It expects to cover an estimated 80 percent of infants aged 6 to 24 months by the completion of the project.

Duration

The project began in July 2009 and is expected to be concluded in December 2012.