Overview

The use of multiple micronutrient powders for point-of-use fortification of foods has been suggested as an alternative to mitigate or overcome the constraints associated with supplementation and mass fortification. They are intended to increase the vitamin and mineral intake of infants and young children aged 6 to 23 months as well as preschool and school-age children aged 2–12 years.

This guideline is intended to help Member States and their partners in their efforts to make evidence-informed decisions on the appropriate nutrition actions to improve the nutritional status of infants and children aged 6 months to 12 years. It will also support their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the global targets set by the Comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition, and the Global strategy for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health 2016–2030.

It is intended for a wide audience, including governments, nongovernmental organizations, health-care workers, scientists and donors involved in the design and implementation of micronutrient programmes and antenatal care services, and their integration into national and subnational public health strategies and programmes.

This guideline provides global, evidence-informed recommendations on the use of multiple micronutrient powders for point-of-use fortification of foods consumed by infants and young children aged 6–23 months and children aged 2–12 years.

Contents

• PUBLICATION HISTORY
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• SCOPE AND PURPOSE
• BACKGROUND
• SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE
  • Multiple micronutrient powders in infants and young children aged 6–23 months
  • Multiple micronutrient powders in children aged 2–12 years
• RECOMMENDATIONS
  • Recommendation 1
  • Recommendation 2
• REMARKS
• RESEARCH GAPS
• DISSEMINATION AND IMPLEMENTATION
  • Dissemination of this guideline
  • Equity, human rights and implementation considerations
  • Ethical considerations
  • Monitoring and evaluation
• GUIDELINE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
  • Advisory groups
  • Scope of the guideline
  • Evidence appraisal and decision-making
• MANAGEMENT OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
• PLANS FOR UPDATING THE GUIDELINE
• REFERENCES
• ANNEX 1. FOREST PLOTS ON EFFECT ESTIMATES AND CONFIDENCE INTERVALS FOR SOME CRITICAL OUTCOMES, FOR BOTH INDIVIDUAL STUDIES AND META-ANALYSES
• ANNEX 2. GRADE SUMMARY OF FINDINGS TABLES
• ANNEX 3. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW TEAMS
• ANNEX 4. QUESTIONS IN POPULATION, INTERVENTION, CONTROL, OUTCOMES (PICO) FORMAT
• ANNEX 5. SUMMARY OF THE CONSIDERATIONS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GUIDELINE DEVELOPMENT GROUP FOR DETERMINING THE STRENGTH OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USE OF MULTIPLE MICRONUTRIENT POWDERS FOR POINT-OF-USE FORTIFICATION OF FOODS CONSUMED BY INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN AGED 6–23 MONTHS AND CHILDREN AGED 2–12 YEARS
• ANNEX 6. WHO STEERING COMMITTEE FOR NUTRITION GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT
• ANNEX 7. WHO GUIDELINE DEVELOPMENT GROUP – NUTRITION ACTIONS 2013–2014
• ANNEX 8. WHO SECRETARIAT
• ANNEX 9. EXTERNAL RESOURCE EXPERTS
• ANNEX 10. PEER-REVIEWERS

A World Health Organization (WHO) guideline is any document, whatever its title, containing WHO recommendations about health interventions, whether they be clinical, public health or policy interventions. A recommendation provides information about what policy-makers, health-care providers or patients should do. It implies a choice between different interventions that have an impact on health and that have ramifications for the use of resources. All publications containing WHO recommendations are approved by the WHO Guidelines Review Committee.

Suggested citation:

WHO Guideline: Use of multiple micronutrient powders for point-of-use fortification of foods consumed by infants and young children aged 6–23 months and children aged 2–12 years. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2016. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

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