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Government of Ethiopia, Nutrition International and partners introduce double-fortified salt to reduce neural tube defects in Ethiopia
January 16, 2026
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Story
WATCH: What if fortifying salt could reduce the risk of birth defects?
For decades, iodized salt has protected against iodine deficiency disorders. Now, researchers in Ethiopia are exploring whether the same salt could do double duty with folic acid to help address neural tube defects. Watch the film to see what they discovered.
Posted on August 19, 2026
Video
SALT²: From Evidence to Action in Ethiopia
What if a pantry staple could help prevent one of the world’s most serious and preventable birth defects?
That question is at the heart of SALT²: From Evidence to Action in Ethiopia, a short documentary following the research and collaboration behind Ethiopia’s work on double-fortified salt.
Neural tube defects affect the brain and spinal cord and occur very early in pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant. Adequate folate intake before and during early pregnancy is critical for prevention.
For this reason, in many countries, wheat and maize flours are often fortified with folic acid. But those flours are not household staples in Ethiopia. Salt, however, is used across the country, with a robust industry set-up to ensure that salt is fortified with iodine. Would it be possible to leverage the science and existing system to see if the same salt, already iodized, could also be fortified with folic acid and accepted for use?
Nutrition International’s Research and Development unit worked with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, Ministry of Industry, and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute to find out in collaboration with the University of California, Davis, and the University of Toronto, with funding from the Gates Foundation and support from the Government of Canada.
This work builds on earlier research conducted by the University of Toronto, also supported by Nutrition International, that demonstrated the feasibility of fortifying salt with folic acid. The Ethiopia study moves that work a step further, taking what was proven in a lab to a real world setting to generate evidence on whether this approach can improve the folate status of women of reproductive age—and what that means for families.
The findings were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The film brings you behind the scenes to meet the people moving this critical body of work forward. See what it takes to turn an innovative idea into evidence that is informing public health action.
Learn more about this project and our work in Ethiopia.
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