Fortify Health Launches a Partnership with the Food Fortification Initiative to support wheat flour fortification in Indian government programmes

Fortify Health is thrilled to announce that it has established a partnership with the Food Fortification Initiative (FFI) to support wheat flour fortification in India. FFI is an internationally-recognised organisation that works with governments and other partners to support the fortification of wheat flour, maize flour and rice across the world. Under the partnership, Fortify Health and FFI will work together to support government social safety net programmes to provide micronutrient-rich wheat flour to vulnerable communities in various Indian states. 

The partnership will take advantage of each organisation’s unique experience and resources to support FFI and Fortify Health’s shared vision for a healthier world. It will draw upon FFI’s deep experience of working with governments and implementing agencies while leveraging Fortify Health’s strong ‘on the ground’ presence and existing relationships with millers across India. Fortify Health and FFI will work closely to assist government partners to implement fortification in their social safety net programmes. 

Mr Scott Montgomery, Director of Food Fortification Initiative mentioned: “More than half of all women and children in India suffer from micronutrient deficiencies that have immediate and long-term effects on their health. And yet we have a highly effective, proven intervention that has reduced micronutrient deficiencies in countries across the world, including India, over the past 100 years: food fortification. We look forward to partnering with Fortify Health and our public, private, and civic partners in India to develop fortification programs that build stronger futures.”

Tony Senanayake, Chief Strategy Officer at Fortify Health, mentioned: “Chakki atta fortification is a cost-effective, evidence-backed intervention that can help reduce and prevent iron-deficiency anaemia. Fortify Health is excited to partner with FFI to scale chakki atta fortification to those who are most susceptible to the insidious challenges of anaemia through social safety net program partnerships with the government. Furthermore, we welcome greater collaboration with like-minded organisations within the sector to leverage core competencies and reach beneficiaries in need.” ​

About Food Fortification Initiative:
FFI is a public, private and civic partnership that aims to improve health globally by assisting governments, regional bodies, food producers and implementing agencies to implement and monitor food fortification programmes. For more than 20 years, FFI has worked across geographies to support the large-scale fortification of flour and rice with essential nutrients like iron, folic acid, and zinc to combat micronutrient deficiencies and their consequences, including iron-deficiency anaemia and birth defects of the brain and spine.

About Fortify Health:
Fortify Health is a non-profit that works to enable access to micronutrient-rich chakki atta to reduce and prevent iron-deficiency anaemia. Fortify Health does this through three key workstreams:

1. We support millers to cost-neutrally add micronutrients to chakki atta in the open market;
2. We work with governments in India to mainstream wheat flour fortification through social safety net programmes; and
3. We conduct monitoring and evaluation of our activities to inform the public about the value of food fortification.

For more information about Fortify Health’s work, please visit https://www.fortifyhealth.global/who-we-are.html 

For more information about FFI’s work, please visit https://www.ffinetwork.org/