Team Research Forum: Role of Scientific Evidence in Policy Discussions
From outright rejection to hopeful embrace: The role of evidence in guiding bouillon fortification policy discussions in Nigeria
Join the Office of Research on Friday, February 21st at 10:30am to learn about the key role UC Davis research played in a recent decision by the Nigerian government to add micronutrients (iron, zinc, folic acid, and vitamin B12) to nationally produced and imported bouillon cubes. Bouillon cubes are consumed by over 98% of households in the country, including ‘at-risk’ subpopulations, making them a cost-effective and equitable delivery vehicle for much needed micronutrients. This decision may help many Nigerian children from becoming malnourished, both saving lives and improving the overall health and longevity of the country’s population.
This achievement is a fantastic example of UC Davis research making a global impact; of researchers from different disciplines collaborating to find a unique solution to a real-world problem; and of research, philanthropy, industry and government coming together to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty.
Reina Engle-Stone
Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition
Dr. Engle-Stone’s research is in global public health nutrition, with a focus on micronutrient nutrition among women and young children in low-income settings. Research themes include planning, monitoring, and evaluation of food fortification programs, cost-effectiveness and coherence among micronutrient intervention programs, and nutritional assessment.
Stephen Vosti
Adjunct Professor Emeritus, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Dr. Vosti co-leads a team comprised of nutritionists, geographers, biostatisticians, and economists that develops and uses tools to help developing countries design and manage more cost-effectiveness micronutrient intervention programs and policies. This team has assessed the cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of alternative delivery platforms for multiple MN powders and small-quantity LNS (Uganda) and vitamin A supplementation (Kenya and Burkina Faso); worked closely with policymakers in Cameroon to identify more cost-effective food fortification and other strategies for managing vitamin A deficiencies among young children; and played an important role in the decision in Ethiopia to mandate the fortification of edible oils.
He has substantial field-based research experience in Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Pakistan.
