Food fortification: Not too late in Tanzania – A call for action

Abstract

The paper gives an overview of micronutrients deficiency effects and the recent maiden steps taken for food fortification in Tanzania. Tanzania is commended for starting a food fortification program. In 2013 a pilot project was introduced for grain fortification with iron, zinc and folic acid. It has been implemented in Manzese and Tandale Wards of Dar-es- Salaam. The project is aligned to the Scaling Up of Nutrition initiative (SUN) launched by President Jakaya Kikwete in 2012. This means the President declared a war against malnutrition and food fotification as one of the strategies. It is expected that the food fortification pilot project will succeed and will be emulated in the rest of Tanzania, Africa and in the whole developing world. Thus Food fortification is not too late.

KEY WORDS: Food fortification, Tanzania, Nutrition