The Millenium Development Goals
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide a blueprint to meet the needs of the world’s poorest people. The HarvestPlus biofortification strategy can be a powerful tool to reach several of the MDGs.
| Goals and Indicators | Role of Biofortification |
|---|---|
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
| Biofortification targets the rural poor, in particular, who are more vulnerable to the underlying causes of undernutrition and consume large amounts of food staples and often little else. Improved micronutrient status has been shown to improve work productivity and mental performance and reduce the number of days of disability associated with infections and fatigue. |
Achieve universal primary education
|
Improved micronutrient status has been shown to improve cognitive and psychomotor development. Crops with high vitamin A or zinc should decrease the number of days children spend fighting off infections, time that they could be spending in school. Children who do well in school are more likely to want to stay in school, and their caregivers are more likely to support their education. |
Improve maternal health
|
Improving intake of food made from iron-rich crops should result in better nutrition and health for millions of women suffering from iron deficiency. |
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
|
The severity and mortality from HIV-AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other diseases are exacerbated by poor micronutrient status. Biofortified crops may help mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS, particularly among poor rural populations. |
Ensure environmental sustainability
|
Roots of plant genotypes that are efficient in mobilizing surrounding, external trace minerals are not only more disease resistant but also make better use of the moisture and minerals contained in subsoils. This reduces the need for fertilizers and improves drought tolerance. In addition, fewer herbicides and pesticides would have to be used because micronutrient-efficient genotypes should have greater resistance to plant pathogens. These characteristics benefit those whose soils are deficient in trace minerals on rainfed land and who are thus among the poorest farmers. |
Read this summary from the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition for more information on how eradicating hunger and malnutrition can get us closer to achieving the MDGs.
