This year marks the 20th anniversary of the International Micronutrient Malnutrition Prevention and Control (IMMPaCt) program. Since 2000, IMMPaCt has provided technical assistance to approximately 60 countries and worked to improve nutritional surveillance in the United States.
Micronutrient deficiencies can have devastating consequences. Micronutrients, also called vitamins and minerals, are key to helping infants and children grow, learn, and thrive. Adults need micronutrients for productivity, and women need micronutrients for healthy pregnancies.
IMMPaCt provides training and support for country partners to conduct national surveys related to vitamin and mineral intake and program evaluations. IMMPaCt also helps countries create or improve surveillance systems. Once the data are collected and analyzed, countries can consider appropriate interventions, such as food fortification and vitamin and mineral supplementation.
IMMPaCt has also worked with global organizations to develop global guidelines on vitamin and mineral interventions and assessing anemia and micronutrient status.
In the photo, Robert Zoma, left, and Arnaud Ouedraogo study an application that shows the boundaries of one of 90 micronutrient survey areas in Burkina Faso. The app sounds an alarm if users walk outside the boundaries to keep them from visiting households outside the survey area. Members of the DNPAO micronutrient team provided training and supervision for the survey. Photo @Nicole Ford.
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