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18 May 2007
Nutritionally Enhanced Products Boosting Food Aid Programs
Products derived from soy, potato, peanut products address malnourishment
Washington -- The food industry and nongovernmental international development groups are partnering with the U.S. government to develop and provide more types of nutritionally enhanced food aid to countries tackling the problems of hunger and illnesses associated with malnutrition, authorities on food aid say.
Nutritionally improved soy, peanut and potato products meeting local taste and texture preferences are among those being used in U.S. food aid programs. The enhanced foods are being used in food-based therapies for severely underweight children, famine victims and people affected by such illnesses as HIV/AIDS so they can boost their immune systems, according to those familiar with the programs.
One public-private partnership provides free protein-rich soy meals at community feeding centers in Mozambique to vulnerable groups and low-cost meals to the general population.
The partnership involves the Food for Progress program administered by the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA), the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the American Soybean Association, the Massachusetts-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) Planet Aid and the government of Mozambique.
Through the program, U.S.-donated soy oil sold locally has provided proceeds for supporting the training of hundreds of rural primary school teachers and an agricultural training program for local farmers, Marie Lichtenberg, director of international partnerships for Planet Aid, told USINFO.
Proceeds from soy oil sales also support recruiting and training field officers who share with communities information about AIDS prevention, visiting HIV/AIDS patients to ensure they are taking their medications properly and testing individuals for HIV, Lichtenberg said.
Local workers trained by field workers are employed in the feeding centers, learning about good nutrition, proper food preparation and basic business skills.
Another U.S. food aid partner is the United States Potato Board, whose producer members are providing fortified dehydrated potato flakes and granules for existing U.S. food aid programs that support maternal and child health, food for education, disaster relief and transitions from conflict.
Dehydrated potatoes are going to such countries as Zambia, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, Senegal, Bolivia and Nicaragua, the potato board says. The donations are accompanied by cooking workshops on how to prepare the foods safely.
Dehydrated potatoes are good for emergencies because they require little fuel and time to prepare. They are accepted widely and easily can be incorporated into a variety of local foods such as tortillas, soups and bread, and can be included in light-weight take-home packages.
The potato products can be reconstituted with mother’s breast milk as well as with clean water and are suitable for therapeutic feeding for people who have poor digestive systems such as those with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other illnesses, the board says.
In Malawi, the Missouri-based nonprofit group Project Peanut Butter, founded by Washington University pediatrician and former Fulbright Scholar Mark Manary, is using the peanut-based, ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUFT).
Supplemented with vitamins and minerals, RUFT is a peanut-and-dried milk paste similar to peanut butter. Approved by USAID as a life-saving component of its food aid programs, RUFT is dense with energy, may be stored for long periods, does not require mixing with water (eliminating a risk of contamination), and does not need to be cooked, Manary told USINFO.
Partnering with the U.S. Agency for International Development Global Development Alliance partnership program, the French company Nutriset, a Malawi NGO, UNICEF and the World Food Programme, Project Peanut Butter also is helping Malawians learn to manufacture locally RUFT, also known commercially as Plumpynut®, Manary said.
The product has been used successfully in home-based care as a primary therapeutic food after initial inpatient care and caretaker training, reducing costs associated with feeding centers
For more information about U.S. partnership in foreign aid see Partnership for a Better Life.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
