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Knowledge4Policy
Knowledge for policy
Supporting policy with scientific evidence

We mobilise people and resources to create, curate, make sense of and use knowledge to inform policymaking across Europe.

  • Publication | 2010
Developing Simple Measures of Women's Diet Quality in Developing Countries: Overview
Global Food and Nutrition Security

Micronutrient malnutrition is one of the most widespread yet largely neglected nutrition challenges faced by women living in the developing world today. An estimated 19 million pregnant women are vitamin A deficient due to poor diets , and 500 million women of childbearing age (~40%) are anemic. The burden of these and other micronutrient deficiencies, such as zinc, iodine, and vitamin B-12, is particularly high in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The consequences of micronutrient deficiencies among women are profound and far reaching; they affect not only the health and survival of women but also have long-term, irreversible effects on their offspring.