Written question asked by Tom Clarke (Labour) on Tuesday, 3 November 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 5 November 2009. It was answered by Michael John Foster (Labour) on Monday, 9 November 2009 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Developing Countries: Zinc

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps he has taken to increase the supply of zinc tablets to developing countries.

Answer: The Department for International Development's (DFID) new evidence paper, "The neglected crisis of undernutrition: Evidence for action", acknowledges the importance and cost effectiveness of zinc supplementation for maternal and child nutrition and health. This is available on-line:"http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications/nutrition-evidence-paper.pdf"The forthcoming Nutrition strategy will also include support to scaling-up direct nutritional interventions, including zinc.DFID provides £21 million a year to UNICEF which leads efforts to increase zinc supply to developing countries. Although there is still a vast unmet need, the number of tablets distributed has increased from 20 million in 2006 to 91 million in 2008. At a national level, DFID has also provided support to increase supply. For example, we are currently providing £7.5 million over five years to the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh, which has carried out extensive trials on 'baby zinc'—a medicine for young children.

Secondary information