UNCC300 Semester 2: GAIN - Report on Global Nutrition Alliance

This report provides an overview of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), an independent non-profit foundation established in 2002 by the United Nations, based in Geneva, Switzerland. GAIN focuses on developing a world without malnutrition by supporting public-private partnerships and providing financial and technical assistance for delivering nutritious foods to populations at risk. The report highlights GAIN's market-based nutrition solutions, including large-scale food fortification, maternal, infant, and young child nutrition programs, agriculture and nutrition initiatives, business partnerships, and research efforts. The organization aims to make healthy food choices affordable and accessible, particularly for vulnerable populations. The report also includes the author's personal insights on essential public nutrition program components, such as adequate nutrient intake, weight management, and physical activity, with a focus on the importance of breastfeeding. GAIN's contributions to improving food systems, partnerships with various sectors, and its work in developing countries are also discussed. References support the information presented, providing context to the global efforts to combat malnutrition and improve nutrition outcomes, especially in low and middle-income countries.

Global Alliance For Improved Nutrition
(GAIN)
Description
• It is an independent non profit foundation
situated in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It was developed by United Nations in 2002.
• Focuses to develop a world without
malnutrition.
• GAIN helps the public private partnerships
and provides monetary and technical support
for the delivery of nutritious foods to those
people who has higher risks of developing
malnutrition.
• GAIN provides support in market based
nutrition solutions that includes areas of large
scale food fortification; maternal, infant and
young child nutrition; agriculture and
nutrition; business partnerships and alliances
and monitoring learning and research.
• GAIN aims to make healthier food choices
more easily affordable and available as well
as desirable for the susceptible population
that are more vulnerable for nutrition
deficiency.
• It aims to improve the nutrition outcomes by
promoting and improving consumption of
nutritious and safe food for the most
vulnerable population.
• Self contribution
• As a professional, I would like to
include the most important three points
for a public nutrition program.
• Adequate nutrients within the calorie
intake of an individual
• Management of the weight of the
individual and physical activity.
• There are many children who suffer
from lack of nutrition but are obese due
to intake of improper diet.
• One of the most cost effective and
important nutrition intervention is
breast feeding.
• Human breast milk contains all the
nutrients that are essential for young
infants and adds to health benefits not
only for the infants but also the breast
feeding mothers (Schanler et al., 2019).
Contribution
They implemented ways through which markets with nutritious
foods can work. They have organized an initiative against
malnutrition, and gained partnership from SUN business
network and NORDIC partnership.
• It is a business platform for research for nutrition. GAIN
works to provide nutrition to the maternal, infant and young
children. They focus on the first 1000 days from conception
to 24 months of a mother and support improved
complementary feeding practices (GAIN, 2017).
• It also uses the agriculture value chain for identification of
opportunities for nutrition intervention from food
production and its storage, its processing procedures,
distribution procedures, retailing, marketing and
preparation of food. This agriculture sector is the main
sector for implementing improvement in dietary diversity
(Haddad et al., 2015).
• It has also build partnerships with governments, civil
society and the private sector. The business works takes
place at the global level as well as the local level. In the
developing countries, GAIN works with the small and
medium sized companies and enterprises that has an
important and crucial role in the shaping of local food
systems.
References
Fleischhacker, S. (2019). Food Fortification in a Globalized World. Journal of Nutrition
Education and Behavior, 51(3).
GAIN. (2017). About Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition. Retrieved 18 August 2019, from
https://www.gainhealth.org/about/
Geissler, C., & Powers, H. (Eds.). (2017). Human nutrition. Oxford University Press.
Haddad, L. J., Hawkes, C., Achadi, E., Ahuja, A., Ag Bendech, M., Bhatia, K., ... & Fanzo, J.
(2015). Global Nutrition Report 2015: actions and accountability to
advance nutrition and sustainable development. Intl Food Policy Res Inst.
Ibrahim, M. K., Zambruni, M., Melby, C. L., & Melby, P. C. (2017). Impact of childhood
malnutrition on host defense and infection. Clinical microbiology
reviews, 30(4), 919-971.
Schanler, R. J., Krebs, N. F., Mass, S. B., American Academy of Pediatrics, & American College
of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2019). Breastfeeding
handbook for physicians.
• The food systems in a country often fail to provide
the required amount of essential (Geissler & Powers,
2017).
• This failure arises due to poor availability and
accessibility as well as affordability of basic
nutritious foods by the common population.
• This results in widespread nutrient deficiency and
adverse health consequences.
• The most vulnerable and susceptible population is
women of the reproductive age, young children,
female adolescents.
• This mainly occurs in low and middle income
countries. The malnutrition is also known as
“hidden hunger”. This has significant effect on
individual health.
• Iodine deficiency is the major cause for mental
impairment.
• There are three million child deaths annually that
occurs due to deficiencies in vitamin A, vitamin D,
iron, iodine, folic acid and zinc (Ibrahim et al.,
2017).
• To address this devastating issue, GAIN has
executed certain ways like food fortification to add
essential nutrients in the diet of the needy to
improve the nutritional quality of the under served
(Fleischhacker, 2019).