Small Scale Fortification

In the developing world, a significant portion of the population is rural. Villagers tend to grow their own cereal grains, such as maize or sorghum and mill the raw grains in small community mills. These community mills are typically powered by water or diesel/electricity and the cereal flour produced is consumed as a staple food. Community mills therefore present an excellent opportunity to extend the delivery of micronutrients to a large number of rural people through the small scale fortification (SSF) of cereal flour during grain processing.

In an effort to uncover simple, affordable and sustainable ways to fortify food for the most at risk populations, In Haiti, Kenya, and Nepal, PHC is working with teams from Stanford University, Partners In Health, and Nuru International, to develop breakthrough technologies that will transform how food is fortified in rural sections of the developing world.

In conjunction with our partners, The Micronutrient Initiative, Stanford University and with funding from the Ansara Family Fund, PHC is undertaking groundbreaking work in designing a program to broadly implement small scale fortification. Small scale fortification promises to be one of the most significant break-through technologies in reaching the rural populations where the need is greatest. The promise so far is unmet due to the health community's inability to solve the social and economic questions associated with rolling out a broader program.