Alliance started to fight world's malnutrition

UNITED NATIONS -- Bill Gates' charitable foundation is leading a new alliance to fight malnutrition in the developing world, underwriting the bulk of the program and enlisting food and vitamin producers.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition aims to eliminate vitamin and mineral deficiencies by fortifying foods such as rice, sugar, maize and oil. The initiative was revealed Thursday at the U.N. Children's Summit.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation committed $50 million to the alliance over the next five years -- the majority of its $70 million budget. Other donors include the Canadian and American governments. Kraft Foods Inc., Procter & Gamble and Swiss drug company Roche, which makes vitamins, are also members of the alliance.

"We see this initiative as both as extremely important on its own and an example of private public partnership that can bring together the skills and resources necessary to address the prime needs of the world's children," said Gates, chairman of Microsoft.

Vitamin deficiencies

About 2 billion people around the world suffer from deficiencies of micronutrients -- vitamins and minerals such as iodine, folic acid, vitamin A and iron that are essential for healthy development.

Deficiencies of vitamin A, iron and iodine are estimated to cost some countries the equivalent of 5 percent of their GDP in lost lives, disability and reduced productivity. Vitamin deficiencies are the leading cause of mental retardation in Africa.