The Micronutrient Deficiency Problem Essay Assignment Paper
The Micronutrient Deficiency Problem Essay Assignment Paper
Deficiencies in micronutrients such as iron, zinc and vitamin A compromise the physical and cognitive capacity of millions of people, thus contributing to the perpetuated poverty, poor health, and underdevelopment. The micronutrient deficiency problem is responsible to many health challenges thus contribute to morbidity and mortality rates in Africa. Despite the stride made in the economic developments of the regions, the micronutrient deficiency problem in East Africa is one of the major nutritional and health concerns the government are trying to address. It is further concerning to learn that, even with the enactment of laws which directs food and packaging industries to fortify maize, wheat, vegetable oil among many other food stuffs, the consumption of fortified foods in the region remains low. It is therefore important to devise strategies which will exploit the existing knowledge and practice to increase the consumption of fortified foods thereby reducing the burden of diseases. One of such strategies is a strong advocacy on consumption of vegetables and development of organic fortified maize and wheat flours using one of the famous and most abundant green leafy vegetable, amaranths. This vegetable continues to be one of the most common food across African and is highly rich in zinc, iron, manganese, folic acid and vitamin A&C. As our strategy to translate knowledge into practice, this project is designed to exploit the rich literature on amaranths and develop an organic fortified maize and wheat mills so as to come up with a unique and cheap alternative to the existing products. The consumption of organic fortified maize and wheat flours will imply that the population consumes vegetable regularly and are supplemented with zinc, iron, manganese, folic acid and vitamins, among many other health beneficial phytochemicals.
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The East African region is not spared on this health challenge despite the promising social economic development indicators observed in the recent years. The region continue to face a challenge of vitamins and minerals deficiency mostly vitamin A, iron, folate and zinc, which are resulting in lasting negative consequences especially on maternal health, cognitive development and infant growth. In Tanzania for instance, it is estimated that, deficiencies in iron, vitamin A and folic acid cost the country over US$ 518 million per annum. The consequence of this scourge is a significant persistence of infant and maternal mortality, with an estimated 27,000 infant and 1600 maternal deaths, or 28,600 total deaths annually.
In response to the pressing micronutrient deficiency challenge, Tanzania enacted a legislation in 2012 which requires all businesses to fortify wheat flour, maize flour and vegetable oil by adding trace amounts of Iron, Vitamin A and/or Zinc. Equally, in Kenya a legislation providing a legal framework for food fortification was enacted in 2012, making it mandatory to fortify wheat flour, maize flour, vegetable oil etc. These legal provisions in the two countries guides millers and food packaging industries to achieve 100% food fortification compliance so as to protect the East African populations from micronutrient deficiency problem.
Naturally, there are several sources of micronutrients, unfortunately, a huge section of the population remain unaware of such readily available sources, which could complement the food fortification efforts in the region. Among the nutrient rich leafy vegetable are the Amaranthus species. In East Africa, there are several species of Amaranthus, however the most studied include; Amaranthus dubius, A. cruentus, A. hypochondriacus, A. hybridus and A. hypochondriacus. Amaranths are popular over the other vegetables due to their high acceptability and multipurpose use. Their tolerance to drought together with short maturity period has led to intense production interest in East African countries. They are rich in iron, zinc, manganese, folic acid, vitamins A & C. They further contain phytosterol, fibers and unsaturated fatty acids which are essential for human health. A study conducted in 2013 in Morogoro, Tanzania revealed some amaranths to have higher content of these micronutrient hence recommended for daily intake to fill the micronutrient deficiency gap in diets.The Micronutrient Deficiency Problem
Based on various studies in East Africa, Central and West Africa, this project is therefore designed to develop an amaranths fortified maize and wheat flour as a strategy to expand the use of natural (organic) and low cost fortification options. In this project, the best growing conditions for the Amaranths which will yield higher content of zinc, iron, calcium, vitamins A &C and manganese will be determined to enable large scale production of the green leafy powder for fortification purposes. This will be coupled by the determination of best growing conditions which will suppress the level of non-nutritive contents. This will be followed by development of a formula for fortification of various products commonly consumed by majority of the populations in East Africa e.g. wheat and maize flour. The product with be developed and piloted in collaboration with medium size maize and wheat flour milling companies in Tanzania and Kenya.
There is growing concerns on the child stunting and micronutrient deficiency problem across Africa, and the East African region is not spared either. Furthermore, maternal and infant mortality continue to be one of the health challenges facing the region, which, to a great extent are caused by micronutrient deficiency problems. For instance, the deficiency in iron among expectant women has led to severe anemia, leading to maternal complications, underweight births and even death. The zinc and folic acid deficiency has been connected with infants’ complications such as preterm birth and neural tube defects. The micronutrient deficiency is further observed in children development where in some areas it has led to low cognitive level and stunting. For instance, in Tanzania the so called basket regions where most of the grains and cereals are produced massively, face a serious micronutrient deficiency problem as manifested by stunting and low cognitive capacity of children. These observations have necessitated a rethink on how the problem can be addressed, not only in those regions but in the whole country and the region. Consequently, an innovative strategy which will feed into industrial production to ensure access, is needed to provide solutions to the problem. In this case therefore, an inclusive and simple to adopt strategy for food fortification is likely to achieve a broader acceptance in the population thereby contributing toward addressing micronutrient deficiency problem in the country and the region.The Micronutrient Deficiency Problem
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