Fortify Health is working to ensure that the significant progress India has made in nutrition over the last few decades is continued, and not reversed, in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Nutrition interventions are more essential than ever; good nutrition builds immunity, prevents/reduces many long term health issues, and has life-long positive effects on cognitive development in children. If nutrition interventions fall through the cracks, experts believe there will be a secondary public health crisis after the immediate COVID-19 crisis.
To work towards preventing this, Fortify Health has continued to expand its core wheat flour fortification program throughout the pandemic. We are continuing to scale up our engagement with state and district-level government in Maharashtra, to support them in reaching the most vulnerable populations with fortified wheat flour, whose livelihoods are likely to have been most severely affected by lockdowns and economic downturn.
Fortification is, and will continue to be, a highly effective way of getting essential micronutrients to large populations, including the most vulnerable and remote groups, particularly in times where it may be more difficult to manually deliver supplementation and dietary diversification programs due to COVID-19 safety concerns. It is important that institutions and NGOs keep on track with global developmental progress, whilst also reacting quickly to the spread of COVID-19. Given this urgent and ongoing need for adequate nutrition at population scale, Fortify Health is continuing to remain focused on its core intervention as a critical response to the COVID-19 crisis in India. We will also remain willingly flexible in the case that we identify additional, effective, related interventions.
On top of this, Fortify Health has been working with grassroots NGOs to support urgent COVID-19 relief efforts throughunconditional cash transfers and food relief.
If we let nutrition and other public health interventions fall through the cracks, we will have a secondary public health crisis on our hands
