Project Healthy Children/Sanku reached an important mile marker that will allow our small scale fortification efforts to reach 25 million people by 2025. Lowering the cost of nutrient premix for African millers has been a priority of PHC/Sanku, and we believe we have now developed a market-based solution that reduces the price of premix to zero.
We recently completed a pilot program, whereby we bundled the price of their raw material (bags) with premix, and sold them to the millers for the same price they previously paid for the bags alone. The bags were sourced economically from overseas, using an idea provided to us by volunteers at General Mills, and developed with the assistance of Stanford University. The result has been that the cost of fortifying flour has dropped to zero—for both the consumers and the millers!
Sanku President, Felix Brooks-church noted, “When the first miller saw the new bags, with the fortification logo and colorful border, he immediately asked if he could place his next order.” Thus far, every miller that has been part of the initial test plans to re-order bags from PHC/Sanku. Compliance is now 100%. We have more challenges in order to scale up the pilot program, but this success represents a critical step in the process.
“Not only have the millers been thrilled with the quality of the bags and the addition of premix, but their production of fortified flour increased by an incredible 800% in the first week,” Brooks-church reported.
With this initial pilot test completed, PHC/Sanku is now scaling up our work in order to reach as many vulnerable people as possible. Said Brooks-church, “Currently, our biggest problem is meeting the demand of the millers to buy more bags and fortify more flour—I could not be more thrilled!”
Without supporters like you, this critical pilot program, vital to our goal of reaching over 100 million of the world’s most vulnerable people, would not be possible.
Thank you for your continued support.