Tanzania
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Project
Distribution of iron-containing cooking pots to a population dependent on food aid, and an evaluation of its acceptability and the effect on iron deficiency anemia.
Start Date
Fieldwork began in September 2000 with a pilot study to assess the type of iron-containing cooking pots to distribute.
Background and Purpose
Recent controlled, randomised studies in Ethiopia and Brazil have shown that cooking in iron-containing cooking pots aids in reducing iron deficiency anemia among children consuming food cooked in such pots.1, 2 The World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have initiated a program to distribute iron-containing cooking pots to all households in one refugee camp in western Tanzania. The purpose is to test the feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention on a population basis. Western Tanzania was chosen because iron deficiency anemia has been identified as a serious public health problem in children less than 5 years of age.
Evaluation of the intervention includes
- A pilot study to assess the best way to introduce the pots to the intervention population.
- Baseline and follow-up surveys to estimate the prevalence of anemia and the mean hemoglobin among children less than five years old, adolescent girls 10� years of age, and women of childbearing age (20� years of age).
- Focus groups to assess the acceptability and uses of the iron pots
- Surveys to evaluate the prevalence and severity of Bantu siderosis among adult males.
- Other program evaluation methods.
Scope
This evaluation was limited to two refugee camps in western Tanzania.
Other Partners
- The World Food Program
- The United Nations Foundation
- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- The Institute for Child Health, University College London
Progress and Future Plans
Based upon the results of the pilot study and laboratory testing, a 5-liter stainless steel cooking pot was selected. In December 2001, a baseline survey was conducted in the camps, followed by the distribution of stainless steel cooking pots. Pots were distributed to 11,650 households in one refugee camp in western Tanzania. A follow-up survey is scheduled for the summer of 2002.
1Adish AA, Esrey SA, Gyorkos TW, Jean-Baptiste
J, Rojhani A. (1999) Effect of consumption of food cooked in iron pots on
iron status and growth of young children a randomized trial. Lancet
353 712�
2Borigato, E.V. and F. E. Martinez (1998). "Iron
nutritional status is improved in Brazilian pre-term infants fed food
cooked in iron pots." J Nutr 128(5) 855�/p>
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Page last updated: May 22, 2007
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion