Iron deficiency anemia is the most widespread nutritional disorder in the world, a severe health problem that affects more than 3.5 billion people. It causes a range of problems, from extreme lethargy to low birth weight, stunting, maternal mortality, miscarriage and loss of productivity. More than half the population of Middle Eastern countries is iron-deficient -- yet fortifying flour with iron costs about US $2 per person, per lifetime.
To quell the anemia epidemic in the Middle East, health professionals urge that fortified flour be used in bread. But because of complex social and cultural issues in the Middle East, fortifying flour with iron is difficult. Bread originated in Egypt and has been sacred since ancient times. Because of deeply rooted beliefs many millers refuse to add anything unnatural to their bread.
This program from the City Life series looks at the efforts to introduce fortified flour in Yemen as well as Egypt, two of the worst affected countries.
The producer of this program has collected extensive resources at www.tve.org/lifeonline/index.cfm?aid=1137.
The other titles in the series are:
1. City Life - Explores Sao Paolo in introduction to series examining the effects of globalization on people and cities.
2. The Long March - Community in Chengdu, China has organized to clean-up polluted river.
3. The Health Protestors - Health care advocates demand universal health care for the world's population at international convention in Dhaka.
4. Together Against Violence - Poor Jamaican community overcomes violence.
5. Paradise Domain - Pacific islanders are not benefiting from digital windfall or World Wide Web.
6. Pavements of Gold - Increase in urban poverty and population, caused by globalization, threatens Peruvians.
7. Doing the Right Thing - Porto Alegre, Brazil has benefited from urban revitalization.
8. My Mother Built This House - Large homeless contingent in South Africa has organized to build houses for each other.
9. Barcelona Blueprint - Barcelona today is a model of urban planning that may prove sustainable.
10. Gaza Under Siege - The Gaza Strip has been a virtual prison for Palestinians for over fifty years.
11. Waiting to Go - Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are denied human rights.
12. A Fistful of Rice - Protein deficiency threatens generations of children in Nepal.
13. Patently Obvious - International patent regulations only protect multinationals.
14. The Other Side - Poor Mexicans attempt perilous border crossing to US, often at the expense of family, traditional culture, and their lives.
16. Brazil: Winning Against AIDS - Brazil has developed generic antiretroviral drugs to care for those afflicted with HIV/AIDS.
17. Missing Out - Anemia threatens the population of Niger and Tanzania.
18. Stop the Traffick - Investigates horror of child sex industry in Cambodia.
19. My Hanoi - Tour of rapidly urbanizing Hanoi, and the effect on citizens and culture.
20. Lines in the Dust - In revolutionary programs in Northern Ghana and India, gender roles are challenged, and illiterate adults educated.
21. Paying the Price - Pharmaceutical companies block generic drugs, threatening the lives of millions of Africans with AIDS.
22. Holy Smoke: Cambodians Fight Tobacco - Buddhist monks lead anti-tobacco campaign in Cambodia.
Grade Level: 7-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2002
Copyright Date: 2001
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-148-7
VHS ISBN: 1-56029-941-X
