The Lucky Iron Fish

The solution to a complex problem like iron deficiency can be as simple as putting a Lucky Iron Fish in every pot #IronDeficiency #Soent

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the number one micronutrient deficiency affecting close to 2 billion people worldwide. It is the only micronutrient deficiency that affects people in both the developed and developing world and it predominantly affects women and children, especially those living in poverty. Approximately 45% of women in India have IDA and it has been identified as the most important health challenge facing the country. Current attempts to alleviate IDA are not sustainable: iron pills are expensive, often culturally unacceptable and not consistently available. The Lucky Iron Fish offers a simple solution. Based on an ancient Chinese observation that cooking with cast iron results in iron being leached into the food, the fish releases a consistent amount of bioavailable iron during cooking. Originally, the iron ingot was shaped like a fish thought to be lucky in Cambodian culture where the project originally started but the company has developed a Lucky Iron Leaf for use by vegetarians. Regular use of the ingot improves iron status in women and reduces the prevalence of IDA by ~43%. Lucky Iron Fish Inc. is a for-profit social enterprise. Using a buy-one, give-one business model: people in the developed world buy a fish for themselves and provide a fish for distribution to a family in need in the developing world. The company has already distributed more than 100,000 fish. Working with local NGOs and organizations with credibility on the ground in the State of Maharashtra, India, the objective is to use crowd funding to accelerate the distribution of the fish/leaf to reach one million people with IDA and improve their overall health. Outcomes will include an improvement in iron status among the population with IDA and serve as a model for scale-up to other States in India.

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This information was not requested for Solve proposals at the time this solution was submitted.