Benefits and Costs of Bouillon Fortification in West Africa

In this special issue, tools to predict the impacts, costs, and cost-effectiveness of micronutrient intervention programs, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries, are applied to address policy questions related to micronutrient fortification of bouillon in West African countries, a common seasoning used there and novel candidate for multi-micronutrient fortification. Using national survey data from several countries in West Africa, the papers analyze (1) potential impacts of bouillon fortification on dietary adequacy of women and young children, and on functional outcomes such as child lives saved; (2) the costs of these new programs; and (3) cost-effectiveness of fortified bouillon for achieving various nutrition and health outcomes. These analyses are applied to inform the design of potential bouillon fortification standards, as well as to consider how bouillon compares with other micronutrient intervention programs (which may be implemented well or poorly, depending on the program and country). Stephen A. Vosti, Katherine P. Adams, and Reina Engle-Stone (all from University of California, Davis) are guest editors.