Improving Nutrition for Poor Mothers and Children

Purpose

The roundtable meeting aims to develop consensus among, and support action by, all participating developing member countries (DMCs) on standardized methods of food fortification (and levels of fortificants), regulation, surveillance, customs protocols, and trade practice to facilitate subregional trade in food products.

Objectives

At the end of the meeting, each DMC government will have

  • negotiated final work plans and budgets for project activities in each participating country with ADB and UNICEF
  • signed Letters of Agreement outlining policy commitments and agreement on the essential requirements for food fortification, upgrading regulatory and trade policies, enriching food for the poor, conducting population surveillance and food quality monitoring

Participants will have

  • learned from others’ experiences about the latest approaches in food fortification, and advances in regulation, surveillance, customs and trade
  • identified concerns where additional information or further regional dialogue is needed
  • familiarized themselves with project implementation procedures and requirements

Expected Outputs

  • Signed letters of agreement
  • Country investment plans

Target Participants

Participation is by invitation only.

Each country delegation will be composed of

  • Minister or Deputy Minister level for public agencies
  • Member of legislative body
  • Members of civil society, represented by women’s and consumers’ federations
  • Executive officers from private companies, representing salt, flour milling, and baking industries
  • Nutrition scientists

Resource Speakers

  • Turgeldy Sharmanov, president, Nutrition Institute of Kazakhstan
  • Said Ismailov, director, Uzbekistan Republican Institute of Endocrinology
  • Rap Yip, health and nutrition adviser (UNICEF – PRC and Mongolia)
  • Nevin Scrimshaw, president, International Nutrition Foundation
  • Peter Ranum, flour fortification advisor (ADB)
  • Evan McLachlan, nutrition advisor (Aga Khan Foundation)
  • Gary Gleason, communication adviser (ADB)