70th Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop: Meeting Micronutrient Requirements for Health and Development

The 70th Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop: Pediatric Program on "Meeting Micronutrient Requirements for Health and Development" was chaired by Prof. Zulfiqar BHUTTA (Pakistan), Prof. Richard HURRELL (Switzerland) and Prof. Irwin H. ROSENBERG (USA). Micronutrient deficiencies remain a serious public health problem in many parts of the world. Therefore, the 70th Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop in the field of Pediatric Nutrition was entitled: "Meeting Micronutrient Requirements for Health and Development". The workshop was held in Cebu Philippines and was attended by a global audience of more than 100 health care professionals. Profs Z. Bhutta, R. Hurrell and I. Rosenberg had brought together an excellent program with world-leading scientists elucidating topics such as global burden of micronutrient deficiencies and its impact on health, the assessment of requirement of specific micronutrients relevant for different age groups. Overall the importance of meeting micronutrient requirements was revisited for the pre-natal period until childhood. While many practical questions how to solve these complex challenges remain open, a tendency to favor fortifications vs. supplementation was crystallized.