The Final Sprint to Fortify Africa’s Future

Photo: Dominic Chavez/World Bank

From 2007-2021, Smarter Futures, the program under which FFI carries out the majority of its work in Africa, helped make fortification of wheat flour, maize flour, and rice a reality in dozens of countries across the continent.

A unique public-private-civic partnership, Smarter Futures contributed to reducing the risk of micronutrient malnutrition for millions. Over 15 years, Smarter Futures convened key stakeholders through 27 meetings or trainings and provided specialized technical support to grain millers, governments, vitamin and mineral suppliers, international organizations, and academic institutions in 26 countries. The partnership helped create robust fortification programs and provided resources that will continue to prevent the debilitating health consequences of micronutrient deficiencies for years to come. To celebrate the program’s impact, FFI and partners developed a summary report of high-level achievements.

Partners of Smarter Futures include the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and the International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus as project holders, the Food Fortification Initiative as the main implementing partner, and steering team members: Buhler, Helen Keller International, Mühlenchemie, Nouryon, Nutrition International, and the World Food Programme. Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Smarter Futures did not itself invest large program resources but instead supported and strengthened the efforts of its network partners.

Smarter Futures by the Numbers

*Food Fortification Initiative. Potential anemia and neural tube defects averted through fortification of wheat flour, maize flour, and rice. Unpublished estimates. 2021.

The legacy of Smarter Futures

Tremendous progress was made across Africa since Smarter Futures began. In 2007, only seven countries on the continent had legislation for mandatory or voluntary fortification of a grain. As of December 2021, 29 countries have legislation to mandate the fortification of wheat flour alone or in combination with maize flour, six countries allow the voluntary fortification of either flour, and—though no country in Africa mandates the fortification of rice yet—Smarter Futures has mapped opportunities for rice fortification on the continent. Although this progress cannot be attributed to the impact of Smarter Futures alone, the program’s meetings, workshops, trainings, and other events have been attended by stakeholders from 41 countries. Thirty-six of these 41 countries are now planning, implementing, or monitoring a national fortification program.

Sprinting toward a healthier Africa

With Smarter Futures’ funding ending, FFI is making plans to apply lessons learned and take large-scale fortification programming on the continent across the finish line.

In countries that demonstrate high feasibility for fortification and high potential for impact, FFI proposes the “Final Sprint,” a bold, focused approach that engages FFI expertise and local experts. These individuals will serve to guide government, private sector, and civil society entities over a sustained four-year period through a process that ensures quality programs are put in place using innovative business models and sustainability plans that position each country with the ability to own, operate, and shape the program long into the future.

Mandatory and Voluntary Fortification of Wheat Flour and Maize Flour in Africa, 2021

[1] Global Fortification Data Exchange. Fortification Legislation. Accessed 1 January 2022.