Containers of Golden Fry (fortified cooking oil) at the store
Vitamin A is deficiency is a major contributor to maternal mortality and significantly increase the risk of severe illness and death among children. In a vitamin A deficient population, it’s vital to provide two doses of vitamin A annually to children under the age of five to boost their immune systems, like these children in Kenya received during a recent vitamin A supplementation campaign.
Fortifying commonly consumed foods with vitamin A provides this mirconutrient on a more continuous basis and has the potential to reduce the dietary gap of vitamin A and can reduce overall deficiency in a population. MI worked in partnership with the Government of Kenya, the Kenyan oil industry and the Rapid Results Institute to fortify edible vegetable oil with vitamin A.
As a result of this partnership, three certified vitamin-A-fortified edible oil products – Chipsy, Golden Fry and Kimbo – were made available on store shelves in just 130 days. The quick turnaround resulting from the private sector and government partnership triggered a process of industry change and has other industry members interested in applying for certification of more brands of fortified products.
Photo by Boniface Mwangi.