Bangladesh just built an alliance against 'hidden hunger' — the deficiency you can't see

Hidden hunger rarely makes headlines: millions of people eat enough calories yet lack the iron, iodine and vitamins their bodies need, and the damage — especially to children and mothers — stays invisible until it doesn't. Bangladesh has now launched the Fortification Alliance Bangladesh to fight it at national scale, launched in Dhaka with government agencies, UN organisations, academics and food producers at one table. The World Food Programme will chair the alliance, with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition as co-chair. The tools are proven and cheap: adding iodine to salt, vitamin A to cooking oil, and nutrients to rice and wheat flour — Bangladesh already does all three, and the alliance exists to make them consistent, safe and universal. An estimated 25.6 million Bangladeshis cannot afford a nutritious, diversified diet; fortification works precisely because it asks nothing extra of the people eating. 'Fortified foods must meet quality and safety standards and reach those who need them most,' Food Minister Afroza Khanam told the launch.

SDG 2 · Zero hunger — Mechanism: institutional program