Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Awards Grant to Combat Malnutrition

10/13/2003

From: Janet Hodur, 202-862-8177 or j.hodur@cgiar.org; Michele Pietrowski, 202-862-5679 or m.pietrowski@cgiar.org, both of the International Food Policy Research Institute

News Advisory:

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will announce a grant to HarvestPlus, a global research initiative to breed and disseminate crops for better nutrition, spearheaded by the International Center for Tropical Agricultural Research (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute. With the grant, HarvestPlus will work to combat malnutrition, a leading cause of child deaths in the developing world, by improving the nutritional quality of staple foods in developing countries.

Using an innovative approach called biofortification, HarvestPlus unites agricultural and nutrition scientists to work together to breed crops that provide higher levels of micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamin A. Biofortification represents an important new avenue for agricultural research.

WHAT:

Conference call briefing for journalists to announce grant by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to HarvestPlus

WHO:

-- Joachim Voss, Director General, CIAT

-- Ian Johnson, Work Bank Vice President, Sustainable Development, and Chair of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

-- Howarth Bouis, Director, HarvestPlus

WHEN:

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 9:30 -- 10:30 a.m. EDT, in Washington, D.C.; 1330h GMT

Local journalists are welcome to attend the briefing in person at the Zenger Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th Street N.W., 13th Floor, Washington, D.C.

To participate in the briefing, please RSVP to:

Janet Hodur, 202-862-8177 or j.hodur@cgiar.org, or Michele Pietrowski, 202-862-5679 or m.pietrowski@cgiar.org

David Fleming, Director of Global Health Strategies, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will also be available for interviews after the briefing.