Uzbekistan Wheat Flour Fortification Project

Project Overview

In November 2004 GAIN awarded the Government of Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health, in partnership with UNICEF, US$ 2.82 million to reinforce the National Flour Fortification Program's fortification of wheat flour. Wheat flour is fortified with iron, zinc, folic acid (B9), thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2) and niacin (B3). Wheat flour is the main staple food in Uzbekistan with nearly 100 percent of the population consuming wheat flour daily. Funding is provided for premix, fortification feeders, quality control laboratory equipment, the training of mill staff and laboratory technicians, the legislative process for mandatory fortification, the development of an inspection system and public health monitoring activities.

Goal

The goal of the project is to decrease the prevalence of anemia through flour fortification and to ensure the sustained, universal fortification of flour through the creation of an appropriate institutional framework.

Impact

At full scale, the project aims to reach approximately 35 percent of the population.

Achievements

Key achievements include: submission of a draft law on mandatory flour fortification submitted to parliament for approval;  implementation of eight training courses for millers in fortification; and education of approximately 700 journalists on fortification techniques and public health goals As of November 2009, an estimated 7.5 million people had access to fortified wheat flour.

Duration

The project began in November 2004 and was completed in November 2009. GAIN continues to work with the Uzbekistan Haemotology Laboratory to conduct further analysis on blood samples collected as part of a national survey on coverage, awareness, fortified food availability and anemia prevalence.