Satisfying Hidden Hunger: Addressing Micronutrient Deficiencies in Central Asia

'It could be concluded that salt and wheat flour fortification as a result of the project resulted in a significant improvement in the micronutrient status of sentinel households in participating countries.'

- Nevin S. Scrimshaw, PhD, MD, MPH, Institute Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Disease caused by major micronutrient deficiencies posed a growing and urgent problem for the newly emerging countries of Central Asia in the 1990s. The Asian Development Bank responded with a regional food fortification initiative - the first major initiative using public-private partnerships to address public health problems in the region. This report details how the initiative helped the participating countries move toward universal salt iodization and establish sustainable wheat flour fortification, and how the intitiative successfully addressed three unknown development issues in mainly newly emerging market economies: the use of public-private partnerships; collaboration between the government and industry; and the formation of industry associations.