In September 2014, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) was awarded two-year U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding for the program “Regional Fortification in the Central Asia Republics (CAR) and Afghanistan”.
The program has an emphasis on improving fortification processes, regulations and monitoring in the region, in particular for flour exports from Kazakhstan to Afghanistan and edible oil exports from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
General Objectives of the Project:
- Increase supply of micronutrients to CAR and Afghanistan through fortification of wheat flour and vegetable oil;
- Strengthen quality control and enforcement of wheat flour and oil fortification with special attention to imported products in all involved countries, particularly Afghanistan and Kazakhstan;
- Attempt harmonisation of standards for fortification in CAR, Afghanistan and Pakistan; and
- Introduce and test mechanisms to assess extension of use and quality of fortified products at the consumer level in Afghanistan, and in some of the CAR countries.