Iron deficiency knows no borders and its impacts are found around the globe. While iron deficiency can affect everyone, it is largely a women’s health issue, specifically impacting women of reproductive age and pregnant women.

Left untreated, iron deficiency can have devastating impacts on the livelihoods and health of women and children.

• Children under 5 require iron for cognitive development. A lack of iron can impede their development and later impact their earning potential.
• For women, globally 40% of all maternal deaths are linked both directly and indirectly to iron deficiency.
• In other cases, iron deficiency causes fatigue, fainting, headaches and hair to fall out.
• In low & middle income countries, a woman who is iron deficient can earn up to 20% less than a woman who is not.

It is the world’s largest micro-nutrient disorder, impacting over 2 billion people. However, it is a preventable disease and finding ways to prevent and address iron deficiency can save lives and help women and children thrive and survive.

As a company, Lucky Iron Fish is committed to improving the health of women and children. To further develop our work, we are attending Women Deliver in Vancouver June 3rd-6th, 2019. Women Deliver is the world’s largest conference mobilizing women from around the world. We will be joining the likes of Amref Health Africa, World Vision, Grand Challenges Canada, Care, YWCA, Action Against Hunger, Unicef and many others who are all committed to working towards closing the gender parity gap.

As part of our time at Women Deliver, we will be hosting a panel discussion at the Canadian Pavilion hosted by CanWaCH. We have brought together experts from World Vision, Amref Health Africa, Grand Challenges Canada and Food Secure Canada to discuss the role Canada has to play in improving innovation in nutrition interventions.

The panel discussion will focus on highlighting the critical importance that innovative nutrition interventions play in Canadian efforts to enable women and girls to survive and thrive. Canada’s legacy of investment in life-saving nutrition programming is best demonstrated in how Canadian organizations and companies are ensuring that we’re addressing emerging nutrition challenges through low-cost interventions and innovative partnerships and delivery. Addressing nutrition-related illnesses, like iron deficiency anemia (IDA), is critical to achieving equitable universal health care as there is a direct correlation between malnutrition and income poverty. Iron deficiency anemia, the most prevalent micronutrient disorder which primarily impacts women and children, is found in every region around the globe. Preventable problems, like IDA, require low-tech and evidence-based interventions that are both tailored and localized.

You can learn more about Women Deliver 2019 here: https://wd2019.org/

The panel takes place June 3rd at 10:30am, you can register here.

If you are attending Women Deliver, reach out and let us know, we would love to connect!