Barry Presentation

Golden Rice Fighting vitamin A deficiency in the Philippines and Bangladesh Dr. Gerard Barry Golden Rice Network Coordinator International Rice Research InstituteLeveraging Agriculture to Improve Human Nutrition: Prospects for Golden Rice 14 April 2011 1

The need• Globally, approximately 670,000 children die every year because they are vitamin A–deficient.1• Another 350,000 children go blind.2• More than 90 million children in Southeast Asia suffer from vitamin A deficiency, more than in any other region.3 1. Black RE et al. 2008. Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences. The Lancet 371 (9608):253. 2. Whitcher JP, Srinivasan M, Upadhyay MP. 2001. Corneal blindness: a global perspective. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 79(3):214. 3. WHO Global Database on Vitamin A Deficiency. 2009. Global Prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in populations at risk, 1995-2005. Geneva: WHO. www.irri.org/goldenrice 2

www.irri.org/goldenrice 3

The needIn the Philippines• 4 out of 10 (40.1%) children aged 6 months to 5 years are estimated to be vitamin A-deficient• Subclinical vitamin A deficiency affects 17.5% of pregnant womenIn Bangladesh• 1 out of 5 (21.7%) pre-school children are estimated to be vitamin A-deficient• Among pregnant women, 23.7% are affected by vitamin A deficiency www.irri.org/goldenrice 4

Reducing Vitamin A Deficiency• Dietary Diversification• Vitamin A Capsule Supplementation• Large-scale Fortification• Biofortification 5

The needVitamin A deficiency continues to adversely affect manypeople, especially the last 10-20% in the hardest-to-reachareas.In many developing countries, effective programs are notin place to reach all people in need adequately andconsistently.The most vulnerable children and women are oftenmissed. www.irri.org/goldenrice 6

Golden RiceGolden Rice is unique because it contains beta carotene, whichgives it a golden color.Daily consumption of a very modest amount of Golden Rice –about a cup (around 150g uncooked weight) – could supply50% of the RDA of vitamin A for an adult.1Because rice is widely produced and consumed, Golden Rice hasthe potential to reach many people.Golden Rice is intended to be used in combination with existingapproaches to overcome vitamin A deficiency. 1. Tang G, Qin J, Dolnikowski GG, Russel RM, Grusak MA. 2009. Golden Rice is an effective source of vitamin A. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 89:1776-83. www.irri.org/goldenrice 7

Our projectLeading nutrition and agricultural research organizationsare working together to further develop and evaluateGolden Rice as a potential tool to reduce vitamin Adeficiency in the Philippines and Bangladesh. www.irri.org/goldenrice 8

Partners• International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)• Helen Keller International (HKI)• Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)• Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) www.irri.org/goldenrice 9

Our work• Establish the safety of Golden Rice.• Evaluate whether consumption of Golden Rice improves vitamin A status.• Ensure that Golden Rice will reach those most in need. www.irri.org/goldenrice 10

Establishing safety• Field tests in the Philippines and Bangladesh• Biosafety data reviewed under internationally accepted guidelines for food, feed and environmental safety• Safety information submitted to government regulators as early as – 2013 in the Philippines by PhilRice – 2015 in Bangladesh by BRRI• Regulators will complete their approval processes for Golden Rice before nutritional efficacy studies or release to farmers www.irri.org/goldenrice 11

PhilRice confined field test www.irri.org/goldenrice 12

Nutritional EfficacyDoes daily consumption of Golden Rice improve thevitamin A status of adults?• This study will begin only after biosafety is confirmed• Double blind prospective clinical bio-efficacy trial • Among vitamin A-deficient adults in the Philippines • Comparing the efficacy of daily consumption of Golden Rice, white rice, and vitamin A supplements for 90 days• Led by HKI with U California Davis and local partners www.irri.org/goldenrice 13

Reaching those in need• Design and test a delivery program to ensure that Golden Rice can reach farmers and consumers in a sustainable manner in the Philippines and Bangladesh.• Golden Rice will be released by PhilRice and BRRI in rice varieties that are already popular with local farmers.• Golden Rice seeds are expected to cost farmers the same as other rice varieties.• Cooking and taste tests will be done to help make sure these qualities of Golden Rice meet consumers’ needs. www.irri.org/goldenrice 14

Looking aheadThe partners will continue to work to ensure thatGolden Rice reaches those most in need in thePhilippines and BangladeshLessons from the Philippines and Bangladesh willbe important in designing plans for Golden Rice inother countries. www.irri.org/goldenrice 15

“Since a large proportion of vitamin A–deficient childrenand their mothers reside in rice-consuming populations,particularly in Asia, Golden Rice should substantiallyreduce the prevalence and severity of vitamin Adeficiency, and prevent at least hundreds of thousands ofunnecessary deaths and cases of blindness every year.” - Dr. Alfred Sommer Professor and Dean Emeritus Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health www.irri.org/goldenrice 16

Financial support• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation• Rockefeller Foundation• U.S. Agency for International Development www.irri.org/goldenrice 17

Thank you! www.irri.org/goldenrice www.irri.org/goldenrice 18

Barry Presentation

by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on Apr 14, 2011

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