Title / Titre :
Icreasing Demand for Iron/Folate in Peri-Urban Mali

Author(s) / Auteur(s) :
Mohamed Ag Ayoya⁽¹⁾, M. C. Messier⁽²⁾, M. Ag Bendech⁽³⁾, S. K. Baker⁽⁴⁾

Address / Adresse :
⁽¹⁾ Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, 912 N Cayuga, Ithaca, NY 14850,
⁽²⁾ Canadian Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), Bamako, Mali,
⁽³⁾ Helen Keller International (HKI), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso,
⁽⁴⁾ Africa Director, HKI, Niamey, Niger

Key words / Mots clés :

Abstract / Résumé : Regional surveys conducted in Mali estimated anemia among women of childbearing age at between 41% and 59%. Likely this high rate of anemia partly accounts for Mali's high maternal mortality (577/100,000), 48 times higher than in Canada and the USA. An initiative was undertaken from October 1999 to March 2000 in 14 poor peri-urban areas of Bamako designed to improve the micronutrient supplementation practices. Prenatal nutrition training was provided to health staff, a 50% subsidy of micronutrient costs was provided to clients and close links were forged between project's staff and community leaders. Retrospective baseline data were collected from six months prior to the project's initiation and compared to prospective data collected during the project's implementation. The quantity of iron/folate tablets sold increased by 81% and days of supplementation increased by 60%. The median length of iron supplementation was increased from 2 to 5 months. Nutrition communication sessions increased from 13% to 40%, and the number participating increased by 558%. The data show that improvements in iron/folate services can be made with modest investments. Funding from CECI and Micronutrient Initiative.