DFID launches food fortification programme in Sindh.

KARACHI -- The UK Government's largest Food Fortification Programme (FFP) to combat malnutrition was launched here on Wednesday.

FFP aims to tackle vitamin and mineral deficiencies in the diets of the general public particularly women and children.

153 flour mills and 44 oil/ghee mills will be fortified in Sindh by the end of the programme in January 2021.

FFP, which already operates in Karachi, Hyderabad and Maitri, promotes use of fortified wheat flour and edible oil as a cost-effective intervention to improve the health of the general public and focuses particularly on women and children.

Funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the programme will be implemented by Mott MacDonald in collaboration with Nutrition International and a partnership of National and Provincial governments, wheat flour and edible oil industries.

The FFP is based on evidence which shows how food fortification can help prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies and promote healthy brain functioning and normal growth and development.

Speaking at the event, Head of DFID Pakistan Joanna Reid said that fixing malnutrition in Pakistan is a complex challenge. The burden of micronutrient deficiencies, otherwise known as hidden hunger, is particularly worrying in Sindh. FFP is contributing to the UK's aim of improving access to nutritious food for children and women of childbearing age.

Fortifying edible oil and wheat flour with essential vitamins and minerals is a cost effective solution to fight malnutrition. The UK's key...