The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN) have created the GAIN-IPAN Certificate Course in Laboratory Analysis of Food Micronutrients (LAoFM) with the support from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
The course is aimed at tackling malnutrition and the associated stunted growth.
GAIN is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the UN in 2002 to tackle human suffering caused by malnutrition. Working with governments,
businesses, and civil society, it aims to transform food systems to deliver more nutritious food for all people, especially the most vulnerable.
The course would equip candidates with comprehensive understanding of the theory, principles, and applications of physicochemical and instrumental techniques applicable to the analysis of micronutrients in food.
According to UNICEF, “Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 per cent of children under five. An estimated two million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), but only two out of every
10 children affected are currently reached with treatment. Seven per cent of women of childbearing age also suffer from acute malnutrition.”
This context shows a significant need for developing the critical infrastructure needed to improve the country’s nutrition profile.