- Global conference June 2 - 6 aims to ensure all people have the micronutrients they need for survival and best health

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's leading nutrition, food security, global health and sustainable agriculture experts and practitioners are gathering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia next week to address micronutrient malnutrition, which affects one in three people in the world - most of them poor women and children in developing countries.

Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140529/92091

The Micronutrient Forum Global Conference is a catalyst for sharing expertise, insights and experience in preventing and treating micronutrient malnutrition. An estimated 1,000 delegates from every continent will attend five days of presentations and sessions that link the best scientific discovery and evidence to the programs that deliver micronutrients to those most in need.

Micronutrient malnutrition, also known as hidden hunger, is a severe lack of specific vitamins and minerals the human body needs to develop and survive. Its consequences are disastrous: at its worst, micronutrient malnutrition kills. Most commonly, it leads to mental impairment, poor health and low productivity.

The problem is related to diet. Throughout the world, poor people lack access to nutrient-rich foods that most of us take for granted in our daily diets. This is compounded by inadequate health care services, poor sanitation, rampant disease, and a lack of education about infant and childcare.

The knowledge shared at the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference will help achieve the following goals:

• Promote the availability of foods that contain key micronutrients;
• Increase the scale of effective micronutrient delivery programs to reach more people on an ongoing basis;
• Provide a structure that engages the right players at the global, regional and national levels and coordinates their efforts;
• Build capacity and nurture leaders where the need for micronutrients is greatest;
• Build for a brighter future by laying the groundwork for ongoing commitment and investment in micronutrient solutions;
• Add to the body of scientific evidence through knowledge sharing; and
• Close the gaps between the best evidence supporting micronutrient interventions and the design and delivery of programs.

"Strong micronutrient programs are an integral part of the effort to save and improve lives of the world´s most vulnerable," says Lynnette Neufeld, Chair of the Micronutrient Forum Steering Committee. "As a result of the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference, we are discussing key issues, developing new approaches and creating new collaborations with the goal of ensuring all people have the micronutrients they need to survive and be productive."

Global agencies and organizations presenting at the conference include the Micronutrient Initiative, the United Nations World Food Programme, the World Bank, UNICEF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and the World Health Organization. The full program and schedule is online at www.micronutrientforum.org.

About Micronutrient Forum

The Micronutrient Forum is a consultative group, representing a cross-sector approach with stakeholders from nutrition, health, agriculture, social protection, food security, and the private sector. It brings together the most exciting and current research and programming on nutrition, with the focus on micronutrients, to provide an arena for the best evidence-based approach for programming.

Follow the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference: @MNForum on Twitter and on Facebook.

Additional information available upon request:

• Fact sheet on Micronutrient Malnutrition
• Fact sheet on the Micronutrient Forum
• Micronutrient Forum Global Conference Program At a Glance

For further information:

Media contact information:

In Africa
Abel Yeshaneh
0911 45 3054
abely@ehnri.gov.et

Globally
Jacqueline Waldorf
0942 38 1254 in Ethiopia or 001 416 887 8989
mnforum@micronutrient.org

SOURCE Micronutrient Forum