Njala, Sierra Leone — Malnutrition is not always visible to the naked eye. A child could look healthy but still suffer from massive nutrient deficiencies. It is called hidden hunger — a chronic deficiency in micronutrients — and affects a large part of Sierra Leone's population.
The IAEA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are helping to ensure that Sierra Leonians — particularly young children, who are the most affected — get the essential vitamins and minerals they need. Using nuclear technology, scientists are developing new nutrient-rich crops that accumulate higher contents of iron and other micronutrients.
“Although food availability is normally the primary food security concern, food quality is just as important,” said Joseph Sherman-Kamara, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Njala University and Head of the Postharvest Food and Bioprocess Engineering Laboratory. “With nuclear technology, we can develop new varieties of major food crops that have improved nutritional contents and health benefits.”
Hidden hunger affects an estimated two billion people in the world. Of the 20 countries with the highest Hidden Hunger Index scores, Sierra Leone ranks sixth. In 2018, Sierra Leone had the highest child mortality in the world, estimated at 110 out of 1000 live births, according to UNICEF. Almost half of these deaths were linked to malnutrition.
“Chronic cases of childhood micro-nutrient malnutrition, including lack of vitamin A and minerals such as iron, tend to persist from childhood to adulthood, with significant consequences on national health and productivity,” said Isaac Kofi Bimpong, a plant geneticist at the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.
