Devex: Opinion: Food fortification — a call to action
Penjani Mkambula, global program lead for food fortification; Mduduzi Mbuya, senior technical specialist, knowledge leadership; and Greg S. Garrett, director of food fortification, all with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)

“…Fortification of staple foods with essential vitamins and minerals is a proven, cost-effective, and sustainable way of reaching large numbers of people with vital nutrients. Large-scale fortification involves adding small amounts of vitamins and minerals to widely-consumed staple foods and condiments. … Building on the 2015 Arusha Statement on Food Fortification, our new briefing paper sets out the unfinished agenda on food fortification, along with a five-step strategy to tackle it: 1. Advocacy, support to political processes, and capacity building to mandate new laws, expand national programs, and improve quality control and enforcement. 2. Support to ensure appropriate standards are set and technical assistance provided to enable compliance with standards. 3. Action to improve monitoring, research, and evaluation of programs. 4. Innovation to support solutions, such as technology to make monitoring simpler, and initiatives to build consumer demand. 5. Alignment of fortification and food safety programs. … Adequate nutrition should not be a privilege in the 21st century. Sustainable Development Goal 2 aims for the end of hunger and malnutrition for all by 2030. Finishing the food fortification agenda must be a part of the solution” (11/27).