Food fortification and the health of the Guyanese population

By Marilyn Collins

Marilyn Collins is a retired Director of the Government Food and Drug Analyst Derpartment

 

The Ministry of Public Health has placed emphasis on iron deficiency anaemia during this year’s observance of “Nutrition Awareness Week”. It highlighted statistics from local survey on iron deficiency anaemia undertaken in 2012 in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization PAHO which revealed that iron deficiency anaemia affects 41% of pregnant women, 24% of young children and 20.8% of school-age children.

In a previous Ministry of Public Health/PAHO survey for the period 1996 to 1997