“Currently, 159 million children suffer from Anemia in the world”, said UNICEF’s representative to the Republic of Azerbaijan Edward Carwardine in his speech in regional seminar, held on increasing potential for flour effective enrichment, ONA reports.
According to him, one of every three pregnant women suffers from Anemia in Europe and Middle East and it directly affects health of both mother and child: “Overweight in children can pose serious problems for their healthy lifestyles in the future. It affects child’s not only physical body, but also his mental development and length of life. This issue costs billions of dollars for countries. Europe and Middle East regions experience such cases daily.”
Edward Carwadine noted that according to approximate calculations, iron deficiency affects health and lives of 40% of the children under 5 in Europe and Middle East: “Anemia decreases IQ potential of children. It means increase of USD 14 in educational expenses per capita. We should solve the issue. Enrichment of flour with iron and other micronutrients has proved itself as the most profitable way of decreasing Anemia cases from costs point of view.”