Improving Food Security, Nutrition and Health of Vulnerable Women and Children in The Gambia - GCP/GAM/038/EC

Improving Food Security, Nutrition and Health of Vulnerable Women and Children in The Gambia - GCP/GAM/038/EC

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Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2

Publisher FAO ;

Category Factsheet

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Synopsis (short abstract) The Gambia is classified as a low-income-food-deficit country. Seventy-one per cent of the population live below the USD 2 per day poverty line and in 2014 the country was ranked 172 of 187 in the United Nations Human Development Index. Food insecurity and malnutrition are also high. The 2013 National Demographic Household Survey found that two-thirds of children under five, one-third of pregnant women, and 16 percent of lactating mothers had vitamin A deficiency. Despite significant advances in the reduction of undernutrition, the Gambia is still affected by micronutrient deficiencies. Fortification is the addition of one or more micronutrients to a staple food to correct, prevent or reduce micronutrient deficiencies; while biofortification is the process of enhancing the nutritional value of crops by increasing the density of vitamins and minerals in a crop through either conventional plant breeding, agronomic practices or biotechnology. Regulations for food fortification existed only for iodized salt in the country, and while there were programmesproviding some supplements, they were clearly insufficient. Against this background, the European Union-funded project aimed to assist the Government to improve the food and nutrition security of vulnerable women and children in targeted regions, by focusing on ensuring access to and the consumption of micronutrient-rich foods and industrially fortified and biofortified foods.

Language English

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