Access to fortified foods for infants and young children can be difficult, especially for low-income families. Having worked in different civil society organisations, I see how powerful the partnerships the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has with the market-based actors. Through public-private engagements, we work to increase the access to and create the demand for nutritious food for caregivers to give to their children. Placing extra attention on affordability makes my work extra meaningful.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a multiplier of vulnerability, compounding threats to food security and nutrition (FSN), while exposing weaknesses in food systems. In response, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) developed the Keeping Food Markets Working (KFMW) programme to provide targeted support to help sustain core food systems, workers, and markets during the COVID-19 emergency.
Ethiopia is experiencing a growing demand for dairy products, which can make a major contribution to the intake of essential nutrients in the population. However, as a developing country, a large part of the residents do not have access
to dairy products, primarily due to both limited financial resources and availability.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shoulder responsibility for around 50% of the food production and 70-100% of food sales in sub-Saharan Africa for key foods such as fruits and vegetables, animal-source foods, and cereals and legumes. As Ethiopia’s population is swiftly shifting to more urban environments, so are food habits, with 83% of foods and beverages purchased in markets, as opposed to 47% in rural areas.
Eggs are packed with essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, but too few enjoy access to this critical source of protein. This week, GAIN is celebrating this "super food" and honouring the contributions of "food heroes" - individuals who throughout the COVID-19 pandemic have continued to bring eggs to market and onto the table, especially for young children.
Although eggs are highly nutritious, they remain scarce and relatively expensive in many low-income settings, including across many of the countries where GAIN operates. Moreover, they are only rarely consumed by children in many regions. Globally, the average egg supply is around 3.5 eggs per person per week.
Lack of diversity in many people’s diets means that more than two billion people globally are deficient in at least one micronutrient, which has a transversal impact on individuals, communities, and nations. It is within this context that GAIN’s Large Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) portfolio of projects, which operate both at national and global levels, has been deployed, with the aim of increasing micronutrient intakes through the addition of bioavailable micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to commonly consumed foods.
These manuals have been prepared for use by persons and organisations wishing to manufacture and supply complementary foods in different countries. The manuals have been specifically prepared for use in the countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Rwanda and contain generic information that will be applicable irrespective of the country concerned but also contain specific information relating to the four aforementioned countries.
Public food procurement refers to how governments purchase and provide food to defined populations. Institutional food procurement refers to food purchasing and provision by organisations like schools, hospitals, care homes, youth clubs, prisons, and workplaces. Local governments often manage public food procurement at these institutions, serving food to students, patients, employees, and their families.
