Concern’s “super flour” aims to prevent malnutrition in young children

Concern Worldwide is working with communities in Central African Republic and Haiti to produce a super flour to prevent malnutrition in young children. 

Currently maize or cassava flour is commonly used in these regions to make porridge as a first food for young children, but this flour lacks essential nutrients required for growth. 

Existing commercial fortified flours are not accessible to the majority of people, either because it is not available for sale where they live, or because it is too expensive. The new super flour is a nutritionally rounded alternative to mass produced flours that can be made at home by mothers relatively cheaply with locally available products. 

“The super flour is a simple solution to one of the most pressing problems in these countries – malnutrition in young children at a key stage of their development. We aim to prevent malnutrition by empowering communities to produce nutritious flour made from local, sustainable and easy to source ingredients,” said Sinead O’Reilly, Concern’s Head of Health Support.

“Concern’s programmes are designed to facilitate knowledge sharing amongst communities so that resilience against malnutrition can continue to build after Concern’s programmes conclude.” 

Malnutrition is strongly linked to the time when young children are introduced to complementary solid foods such as porridge which is often made with cheap local staple grains. This maize porridge is not enough to cover the nutrition needs of the child (especially in proteins) as breastfeeding is often reduced when the mother moves the child on to solid foods.   

Concern promotes the use of locally made super flour (with additional proteins) along with continued breastfeeding to ensure the infant has the best opportunity to continue to grow and develop during this crucial stage in their life.

Highlighting the importance of adequate nutrition for infants, UNICEF advises; “Children of six to 23 months, in particular, have greater nutritional needs per body mass than at any other time in their life. At that age, children need a variety of nutrient-rich foods to fuel their developing brains and bodies. 

“Without the right diet diversity, children of that age do not get enough nutrients to grow and develop well, with devastating and long-lasting toll on children’s bodies, brains and life opportunities.”

“Without the right diet diversity, children of that age do not get enough nutrients to grow and develop well, with devastating and long-lasting toll on children’s bodies, brains and life opportunities.”

Recipes for super flour vary depending on what is grown locally and easily and cheaply available. 100g of this super flour aims to provide 50% of daily energy needs, 72% of proteins, 53%, 34% of iron, B1 and folate amongst other nutrients. This porridge should be accompanied by food rich in vitamins and minerals like red/yellow and dark leafy vegetables and fruits. 

In Haiti, UNICEF estimates that 2.85 million children –  one quarter of all children in the country - are facing consistently high levels of food insecurity. 

Concern worked with communities in Haiti from 2021 to 2025 to set up 14 parents clubs in 14 neighbourhoods where participants were trained in the production of super flour. Participants also received mills and other equipment to produce flour for children in their neighbourhood and for sale. Concern also organised over 50 cooking demonstrations in these communities. 

The programme is now being introduced in the Central African Republic, where levels of child malnutrition have increased by 30% since 2023, and where infant mortality rate is among the highest globally, with 66 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. 

Concern is working primarily with rural communities and has commenced distributing seeds and tools to communities and organising cooking demonstrations. 

For further information contact Jenny Gillen, Media Relations Officer, Concern Worldwide, at jenny.gillen@concern.net