MEDIA CENTER
Publications
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Data in action
Recent publications using GFDx data:
- Brito A, et al. Methods to assess vitamin V12 bioavailability and technologies to enhance its absorption. Nutrition Reviews. 2018.
- Blankenship JL, et al. Effect of iodized salt on organoleptic properties of processed foods: a systmetic review. Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2018.
- Changing Markets Foundation. Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff: Food fortification in Mexico. 2018.
- Development Initiatives. 2018 Global Nutrition Report: shining a light to spur action on nutrition. 2018.
- Ershow AG, et al. Development of Databases on Iodine in Foods and Dietary Supplements. Nutrients Special Issue: Dietary Supplements. 2018.
- Estevez-Ordonez D, et al. Reducing inequities in preventable neural tube defects: the critical and underutilized role of neurosurgical advocacy for folate fortification. Neurosurgical Focus. 2018.
- Garcia-Casal MN, et al. Risk of excessive intake of vitamins and minerals delivered through public health interventions: objectives, results, conclusions of the meeting, and the way forward. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Special Issue: Risk of Excessive Intake of Vitamins and Minerals. 2018.
- Garrett GS, et al. Food Fortification Policy. Elsevier Encyclopedia of Food Security and Sustainability. 2019.
- Give Well. Helen Keller International’s Vitamin A Supplementation Program. Give Well Top Charity Report. No year.
- Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition. Food fortification: the unfinished agenda tackling hidden hunger at scale. 2018.
- IDD Newsletter. August 2018: GFDx workshops on data and user-centered design for food fortification. 2018.
- IDD Newsletter. November 2018: Global Fortification Data Exchange (GFDx) launched in Spanish. 2018.
- Mannar V, et al. Chapter 40 – Future Trends and Strategies in Food Fortification. Elsevier Food Fortification in a Globalized World. 2018.
- Osendarp SJM, et al. Large-Scale Food Fortification and Biofortification in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of Programs, Trends, Challenges, and Evidence Gaps. Food and Nutrition Bulletin. 2018.
- Perumal N, et al. Global Nutrition: Development of a Nutrition-Specific Comparative Policy Database as a Novel Resource for Global Policy Analysis in Micronutrient Research. Current Developments in Nutrition. 2018.
- Rajendram R, et al. Resources in Famine, Starvation, and Nutrient Deprivation. Handbook of Famine, Starvation, and Nutrient Deprivation. 2018.
- Roth DE, et al. Global prevalence and disease burden of vitamin D deficiency: a roadmap for action in low- and middle-income countries. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Special Issue: Global Prevalence and Disease Burden of Thiamine and Vitamin D Deficiencies. 2018.
Press releases
GFDx version 2 launch – February 28, 2019
Food fortification could be the next global health success story – if countries close the gaps
Data visualization tool identifies opportunities to reach 2 billion affected by hidden hunger
ATLANTA, Ga.; GENEVA; SEATTLE, Wash.; WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 28, 2019 – Two-thirds of all countries mandate food fortification to combat hidden hunger, yet many are not necessarily translating policy into improved nutrition, according to new data from the Global Fortification Data Exchange (GFDx). These countries may be missing an immense opportunity to improve the health of children and mothers, bolster communities, and boost national economies.
Hidden hunger, also known as micronutrient deficiency, is a lack of critical vitamins and minerals. It can be life-threatening and cause lifelong conditions, including intellectual disability, preventable blindness, and birth defects. Today, it affects more than a quarter of the global population – 2 billion people.
GFDx shows that many countries have taken a critical first step to eliminate hidden hunger through the legislation of food fortification – a proven, cost-effective, sustainable, and scalable intervention to address hidden hunger by adding vitamins and minerals to staple foods.
According to the latest GFDx data, 137 of 196 countries mandate food fortification of at least one food, while 68 mandate fortification of two foods. However, in these countries, commonly fortified foods – oil, wheat, and maize flour – reach only 51%, 26%, and 4%, respectively, of people on average. The rest are potentially vulnerable to deficiency in critical nutrients. Moreover, GFDx shows significant gaps in data that need to be filled to give an accurate picture of both progress and remaining challenges.
“GFDx shows that countries are on board with food fortification, but they’re struggling to implement it, or at least not collecting the data on program performance,” says Helena Pachón, Senior Nutrition Scientist at the Food Fortification Initiative.
Driving commitment to a healthier world – through data
For the first time, GFDx allows users to track and map international progress toward fortification of major food staples: specifically, oil, rice, salt, and maize and wheat flour. GFDx aggregates and visualizes data from every country from 1940 to the present. In its newest iteration, GFDx reports population coverage of food fortification, along with food quality, monitoring protocols, food availability and intake, and legislation and standards. With data visualizations designed to engage decision makers, the tool generates custom maps, charts, and tables, and options to download data for offline analysis.
“GFDx isn’t just a data tool, it’s an advocacy tool, to drive demand and political will,” says Jessica Fanzo, co-Chair of the 2018 Global Nutrition Report and Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Global Food & Agricultural Policy and Ethics at Johns Hopkins University. “Not only does it tell us which foods are fortified and how many people those foods are reaching, it’s designed for the right audience: decision makers. As a country leader, if you can see that a critical vitamin is reaching people in a neighboring country, but not your own? That has the potential to be highly motivating.”
The tool also promotes critical knowledge exchanges that drive progress. According to Patrizia Fracassi, Senior Nutrition Analyst and Strategy Advisor of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, “we’re relying on the GFDx to show us, for example, that a given country has been able to enact and monitor policy, or has scaled up the coverage of fortification, or has shown changes in the consumption of vitamin-rich foods. With these concrete cases we can get to work at an actionable level and encourage countries to learn from each other.”
About the GFDx
GFDx is led by a nutrition coalition comprised of the Food Fortification Initiative, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Iodine Global Network, and Micronutrient Forum, and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
To access the latest data, visit the GFDx at www.fortificationdata.org.
Join the conversation on social media: #GFDx.
Media Contact
Katie Shaw, Communications, Global Fortification Data Exchange and Iodine Global Network, +1 206 963 9576, kshaw@ign.org
