Cameroon Micronutrient Intervention Programs
Background
Micronutrient deficiencies can be addressed via a broad range of different intervention strategies, including intermittent or continuous preventive or therapeutic micronutrient supplementation, large-scale or targeted food fortification, social and behavior change communication to encourage greater consumption of micronutrient-rich foods and to promote optimal breast-feeding practices, agricultural interventions (including biofortification) to increase the year-round availability of and access to micronutrient-rich foods, food processing to enhance micronutrient uptake, and health interventions such as deworming and diarrhea control to improve micronutrient absorption and utilization.
Micronutrient Intervention Programs - Existing and Experimental
The MINIMOD team has modeled the following existing and experimental micronutrient intervention programs for Cameroon (with links to more information from the World Health Organization).
- Periodic high-dose supplementation (vitamin A)
- Deworming tablets
- Dietary supplementation (zinc)
- Large-scale food fortification (vitamin A, zinc, folate, iron, vitamin B12): wheat flour, oil, buillon cubes
- Biofortification (vitamin A, zinc, iron)
- Micronutrient powder (vitamin A, zinc, folate, iron, vitamin B12): children 6-23 mo; children 2-12 yrs; pregnant women
- Social and behavior change communication for promotion of increased production and/or consumption of nutrient-rich foods and encouragement of breast-feeding practices that are consistent with World Health Organization guidelines
Micronutrient Delivery Platforms
The MINIMOD team has modeled the distribution of selected micronutrient intervention programs via the following delivey platforms:
- Child health days
- Clinic-based distribution
- Community-based distribution
More infomration on these delivery platforms can be found here.