Nutrition

During 2004, Supply Division procured over $5.3 million worth of therapeutic food, $1.2 million of iron and folic acid supplements for pregnant women, over $1 million of potassium iodate to fortify salt and over $4.6 million worth of UNIMIX (a supplementary food for children with added vitamins and minerals). This is in addition to receiving and distributing donated vitamin A.

Replacing the UNISCALE: In November, UNICEF Supply Division hosted a global consultation on weighing scales (including the UNISCALE, an electronic scale for mothers and children), the first of its kind since 1986. Staff from throughout UNICEF, along with representatives from WHO and the World Food Programme (WFP), aid agencies, and scientists from academic institutions, met together in Copenhagen to review the UNISCALE experience and begin to map out the steps necessary to identify the next generation of mother and baby scales.

The UNISCALE, a ubiquitous UNICEF supply item since the early 1990s, is now being phased out. Discussions focused on current programming needs and the modern products currently available. Next steps include drafting generic specifications, undertaking a market survey and issuing a request for expressions of interest to manufacturers, so that new scales, using the latest technology at an affordable price, can soon be identified, tested, procured and made available to UNICEF and its partners.