Food Consumption and Iron Status Survey in Two Provinces of Rural Burkina Faso

Sorghum is the primary source of food for more than 300 million people in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa. The grain is one of the few crops that grow well in arid climates, but has a low content in most essential nutrients and is difficult to digest. The African Bio-fortified Sorghum (ABS) Project, a consortium of nine institutions led by Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International, is working to develop new varieties of sorghum that are easier to digest and contain lower levels of phytates to improve the bioavailability of micronutrients. In order to determine their target levels, the ABS project needs reliable information on current levels of micronutrient deficiency and consumption patterns of sorghum and nutrients of interest, e.g. iron, zinc, and vitamin A in women and preschool children, which are not currently available in Burkina Faso. A background nutrition survey among children and women, comprised of two rounds, one in the lean season (July - August) and one in the harvest season (November - January), has been conducted to provide quantitative estimates of sorghum, vitamin A, iron and zinc intakes by women and young children from two rural provinces of Burkina Faso. The survey also had a biochemical component which included blood collection and analysis for indicators of deficiency for vitamin A, iron and zinc. Other important components of this study included anthropometric measurements, household and child morbidity questionnaires, and collection of sorghum samples for analysis of phytate, vitamin A, iron and zinc content.