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On the occasion of the 78th World Health Assembly, held in Geneva from May 19 to 27, 2025, IF, together with UNICEF, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Global Alliance for Prevention of Spina Bifida (GAPSBiF), Food Fortification Initiative (FFI), Future Fortified, The G4 Alliance, Iodine Global Network, Micronutrient Forum, Nutrition International, and World Food Programme, organised the side event ‘Accelerating Action on Micronutrient Deficiencies and Their Consequences, Including Spina Bifida: Delivering on WHA 76.19 through Large-Scale Food Fortification’.

On January 7, 2025, IF held a webinar ‘Leaving No One Behind’, dedicated to World Folic Acid Awareness Week, that provided invaluable expertise and experience from the public, private, and civic sector representatives. The theme “Leaving No One Behind” emphasised the importance of ensuring efforts to prevent Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) are sustained and maternal health outcomes are inclusive, equitable, and accessible to all individuals, regardless of their geographic location, socioeconomic status, or level of awareness.

This year marks the seventy-seventh World Health Assembly (WHA77) where we celebrate one year one year after the WHO EB decided to recommend to the WHA76 the adoption the resolution ‘Accelerating efforts for preventing micronutrient deficiencies and their consequences, including spina bifida and other neural tube defects, through safe and effective food fortification’.

Each year in January the International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IF), together with partners across the world, celebrates the World Folic Acid Awareness Week (WFAAW). The WFAAW is a part of the IF Global Prevention Initiative (IFGPI), a campaign to raise awareness on how to reduce the prevalence of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) including Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, by promoting policies and actions to ensure that all pregnancies begin with enough folate to support the development of the foetus. By advocating for access to staple foods fortified with folic acid, folic acid supplements and foods rich in folate for all.

10 December 2023, Sunday | 11:15 – 12:30 GMT | Health Pavilion, Blue Zone, Thematic Arena 2, Building 89, Food and Health, Upper floor, Expo City Dubai

It is with great pleasure that we announce that The seventy-sixth World Health Assembly has voted to adopt the resolution WHA76.19 'Accelerating efforts for preventing micronutrient deficiencies and their consequences, including spina bifida and other neural tube defects, through safe and effective food fortification'. This is a tremendous achievement for the global SBH community.