MICRONUTRIENT MALNUTRITION
‘One City at a Time’
A Grassroots Campaign to Support Population-based Micronutrient Interventions in Developing Countries

CC's founder, Michael David Kaiser, recently appointed a Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), initiated a grassroots campaign in Ukraine for CDC to help accelerate micronutrient interventions, especially food fortification efforts. With Capital Consultants’ help in 2002, 2003 and 2004, volunteers from select American cities visited their Ukrainian partner cities in a one-on-one exchange to help address many of the factors that limit the distribution of micronutrient-rich foods. This ongoing, grassroots campaign encourages the collaboration of local governments, small businesses, multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations, as well as civic groups in five Ukrainian pilot cities to increase the demand for, and supply of, micronutrient-rich foods. Ultimately, such public-private campaigns build self-determination and democratic principles as they strengthen the resource base for eliminating public health problems, thus creating a sustainable and cost-effective approach to ending micronutrient malnutrition.

In the last several years, local students, teachers, doctors, business leaders, and mayors in five pilot cities have successfully addressed iodine deficiency and have moved on to solve other micronutrient deficiencies by building on the local platforms and the successful local advocacy and education campaigns reaching: Parents & Pupils, Patients & Physicians, Politicians & Populations. The enormous success in the last year encouraged UNICEF to launch its own national campaign for iodine deficiency, building on the successes in our five pilot cities. But perhaps most exciting has been the move toward fortifying other foods, including breads and cereals, snack-foods, cooking oil, even fortified water.

Last year the Ukraine Ministry of Health informed CDC that they had been inundated with requests for food fortification from food companies interested in improving their products to increase market share and improve local health and nutrition. In addition, Capital Consultants’ grass roots campaign in Ukraine has accomplished what many government aid agencies only dream of—attracting outside resources and leveraging public dollars more than 10 to 1 to achieve a level of sustainability which surpassed anything previously attempted. In fact, our grass roots campaign is now being replicated in other cities and in other countries in a way never thought possible. Even the most difficult foods to fortify are now being considered. Bread, a staple commodity once considered ‘sacred’ to many Europeans, now is being fortified in two Ukrainian cities as a result of our grass roots campaign. This is made possible by a donation of vitamin and mineral premix from the American Ingredients Company of Kansas City made possible by Cargill, the international commodity trader based in Minneapolis. The donated premix will be distributed to poor women and children. It is yet another example of how this grass roots approach is able - through local appeals - to attract outside resources and donations. Moreover, this grass roots campaign produces a successful, Private Sector Solution to a Public Health Problem.

Considering the slow progress in national micronutrient malnutrition efforts, the progress made by our five pilot cities in Ukraine continues to foster national debate and generate additional grass roots support for national action in the capital city of Kiev, making Capital Consultants’ campaign relevant not only for ending micronutrient malnutrition but also for other health issues as well as for other countries struggling with devolution and its subsequent impacts on public health and education.