Chennnai-born Venkatesh Mannar has been awarded The Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honour, for his work in reducing debilitating micronutrient deficiencies in women and children.
Mannar is the long-standing president of Micronutrient Initiative (MI). He did his under-graduation in chemical engineering at IIT-Madras. After post-graduation in the US, he moved back to join his family business in salt processing.
Speaking to Express, he said, “My heart really wasn’t in it. I was more interested in using salt as a medium of carrying iodine to children, as it is vital for brain development in children. In 1990, at the age of 40, I moved to Canada with my family.”
Four years after the move, he was chosen to lead a small pilot project associated with Canada’s International Development Research Centre. “This was MI. Micronutrients may be required in small quantities, but it has a huge impact. We look at ways to incorporate this into the daily diet by adding iodine and iron to make double fortified salt, iron and folic acid supplements in wheat flour, rice and high dose supplements of Vitamin A,” he stressed.
Since then, MI has grown to cover several countries, working with governments and sometimes private partners. “In India, we work on the basis of infant mortality rate and child and women health indices. The northern states need us more. We are present in Tamil Nadu, but the situation here is better than in other states.”