Malawi

Project Name: National Micronutrient Survey

Start Date: August 2008

Background

A 2001 National Micronutrient Survey in Malawi revealed that micronutrient malnutrition remains a widespread public health problem.¹  The Malawi government responded by joining with several partners to develop a National Plan of Action for Prevention and Control of Micronutrient Deficiencies (2003–2008) and to implement a wide range of interventions. These interventions include the following:

• Vitamin A fortification of some staple foods and cooking oil.
• Semiannual vitamin A supplementation for children aged 6 to 59 months and post-partum women.
• Introduction of Child Health Days for deworming of young children aged 12 to 59 months.
• Iron folate supplementation for pregnant women and school-aged children.
• Promote dietary diversity and the use of iodized salt.
• Nutrition education.

The government of Malawi is in the process of introducing sugar fortified with vitamin A and is working with the UNICEF country office to conduct a follow-up survey to establish the baseline level of vitamin A deficiency.

CDC is assisting with developing the survey protocol, training survey staff and ensuring appropriate quality controls for biomarker data.

Purposes

The project has the following purposes:

• Evaluate the progress made in reducing micronutrient malnutrition to provide a basis for planning future interventions
• Establish current prevalence of deficiencies for vitamin A, iodine and iron
• Determine the percentage of households using adequately iodized salt
• Determine the percentage of households consuming centrally processed foods to identify potential foods for fortification

Target Group(s)

The target groups consist of the following populations:

• Children aged 6 to 59 months.
• School-aged children aged 6 to 12 years.
• Women aged 15 to 49 years.
• Men aged 20 to 55 years.

Progress

The survey proposal has been finalized and the survey form is scheduled to be completed by June 2009. Training on using the survey is scheduled to begin in June 2009.

Partners

The CDC works with the following partners on this project:

• Office of the President and Cabinet, Malawi
• Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), Malawi
• Department of Nutrition, HIV & AIDS, Malawi
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Malawi
• Bunda College

References

1. Report of the National Micronutrient Survey Malawi 2001, May 2003

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