About Micronutrient Malnutrition Prevention

At a glance

CDC's micronutrient malnutrition prevention and control program works to reduce vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The program collaborates with multiple partners. The combined work primarily benefits those most likely to be affected by micronutrient deficiencies: infants, children, adolescents, and women of childbearing age.

Projects

Iron and iodine are critical for healthy births, fetal and child growth, and brain development. However, the United States has no state-level data on iron or iodine status among pregnant women or children 5 and younger.

CDC supports U.S. micronutrient nutrition policy and programmatic efforts by:

• Supporting ways to improve national surveillance.
• Innovating to fill data gaps.
• Improving case definitions for micronutrient malnutrition.

CDC provides technical assistance, training, and/or funding for other projects to reduce vitamin and mineral deficiencies. CDC has collaborated on the following projects with other countries:

• Iron and folic acid supplements for adolescents in Ghana.
• Infant and young child feeding and micronutrient powder program in Nepal.
• Nutrition surveillance systems and micronutrient surveys in Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Guatemala, Ghana, and Uganda.

CDC also provides technical assistance to study the effectiveness of interventions and assess results. This evidence from real-world settings can lead to improved micronutrient strategies and technical resources for broader results.

Laboratory assistance

CDC's labs provide technical assistance and collaboration for micronutrient work.

Accurately detecting and diagnosing micronutrient deficiencies depends on accurate, valid lab measurements. However, some laboratories may lack the resources to conduct all aspects of planning, training, specimen collection, quality assurance, and data interpretation.

CDC's micronutrient malnutrition prevention and control program works closely with two branches of CDC's Division of Laboratory Sciences—Nutritional Biomarkers, and Inorganic and Radiation Analytical Toxicology. These labs work with and provide technical assistance to CDC's projects. The branches also run external quality assurance programs.

Resources

Micronutrient Survey Manual and Toolkit—Tool to assess and monitor the elimination of micronutrient malnutrition. Survey planners can use these ready-made materials.

Global Fortification Data Exchange—Analysis and visualization tool for food fortification. The data can be used to track progress and help decision makers improve the quality of national fortification programs.

Micronutrients Facts—Information on the essential micronutrients and why they are important to health.

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