Sustainable Micronutrient Interventions to Control Deficiencies and Improve Nutritional Status and General Health in Asia

Interventions to improve nutritional status are of critical importance to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Micronutrient deficiencies, mainly iron, zinc, vitamin A and iodine deficiencies affect billions of people worldwide, are responsible for more than one million child deaths per year and prevent a third of the world’s children from reaching their intellectual and physical potential.

The SMILING project "Sustainable Micronutrient Interventions to controL deficiencies and Improved Nutritional status and General health in Asia" will produce a new, feasible and sustainable nutrition intervention agenda , which will be country-specific and directed to women of reproductive age (non-pregnant women, pregnant and lactating women) and young children under 2 years of age. The project focuses specifically on the South-East Asian region because of the diversity in the extent and severity of malnutrition in that region, and on the diversity of political, economic, social and cultural contexts.

The SMILING proposal deliberately avoids expressing pre-conceived views on which interventions should be prioritized currently or in the future as the deliverables of the Action will reflect the views and opinions of a wide range of stakeholders in the region who will be consulted during the project.

The ultimate objective of the Action is to integrate priorities for appropriate, efficient, feasible and sustainable interventions to improve micronutrient status, health and development of women of reproductive age and young children primarily into the national policies of the five target countries in South-East Asia and in the agenda of the civil society, private sector, international organizations and NGOs .

The goal is not only protecting people from hunger but also to guaranty food and nutritional security to these most vulnerable groups , thereby contributing directly to MDG1, MDG5 and MDG4 and as well by extension to MDG2 and MDG6.

The SMILING project was the topic of a publication in Food and Nutrition Bulletin, vol. 34, no. 2 (sup.), "The SMILING project: A North–South–South collaborative action to prevent micronutrient deficiencies in women and young children in Southeast Asia" , signed by Jacques Berger, Gentiane Blanchard, Maiza Campos Ponce, Chhoun Chamnan, Mary Chea,
Marjoleine Dijkhuizen, Coleen Doak, Esmee Doets, Umi Fahmida, Elaine Ferguson, Paul Hulshof, Yves Kameli, Khov Kuong, Kongsap Akkhavong, Kounavong Sengchanh, Bach Mai, Le, Thi Lua Tran, Siti Muslimatun, Nanna Roos, Prak Sophonneary, Frank Wieringa, Emorn Wasantwisut, and Pattanee Winichagoon, for the SMILING consortium group

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Abstract

: The “Sustainable Micronutrient Interventions to Control Deficiencies and Improve Nutritional Status and General Health in Asia” project (SMILING), funded by the European Commission, is a transnational collaboration of research institutions and implementation agencies in five Southeast Asian countries—Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam—with European partners, to support the application of state-of-the-art knowledge to alleviate micronutrient malnutrition in Southeast Asia.

: The major expected outcomes are to improve micronutrient status on a large scale, to identify priority interventions in each Southeast Asian country,
and to develop a road map for decision makers and donors for inclusion of these priority interventions into the national policy.
Methods: SMILING has been built around a strong project consortium that works on a constant and proactive exchange of data and analyses between partners and
allows for the differences in contexts and development stages of the countries, as well as a strong North–South–South collaboration and colearning.

: The selection of Southeast Asian countries considered the range of social and economic development, the extent of micronutrient malnutrition, and capacity and past success in nutrition improvement efforts. SMILING is applying innovative tools that support nutrition policy-making and programming. The mathematical modeling technique combined with linear programming will provide insight into which food-based strategies have the potential to provide essential (micro)nutrients for women and young children. Multicriteria mapping will offer a flexible decision-aiding tool taking into account the variability and uncertainty of opinions from key stakeholders. The lessons learned throughout the project will be widely disseminated.

: Interventions, large-scale implementation, malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, policy, Southeast Asia,