Scientists Team Up to End Malnutrition in Africa

Three organizations based in Missouri, the St. Louis Children's Hospital, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Washington University School of Medicine, have started a new program that aims to end malnutrition in the developing world, particularly in Africa. The focus of the newly formed Global Harvest Alliance (GHA) will be to create low-cost, nutritionally complete foods to prevent and treat all forms of under-nutrition. Plant and physician-scientists from the Missouri-based organizations will work together to develop nutrient-rich and pest and disease-resistant crops that can be disseminated through smallholder farmers.

The GHA team will be headed by Mark Manary, a professor of pediatrics at the Washington University School of Medicine. Manary is well known for his work on a fortified, peanut-butter based food that is widely used in developing countries to treat severe malnutrition. "People in the developing world derive most of their nutrients from plants; plants constitute 90% of the diet of many Africans," said Manary. "Therefore effective prevention strategies must include food crops that provide more complete nutrition."

Researchers are now testing vitamin A and protein-fortified cassava varieties in greenhouses in the United States. The scientists said that these varieties are expected to be widely available in Africa within the next 10 years, improving survival-rates and quality of life for millions of children and families that would otherwise suffer malnutrition.

For more information, read http://www.danforthcenter.org/newsmedia/NewsDetail.asp?nid=170