Tanzania is hosting the first Future Fortified Summit this month that seeks to end malnutrition, said the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (Gain) on Wednesday.

In a global first, to address the global issue of hidden hunger, which affects over two-billion people worldwide, key organisations would be meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, on Wednesday, to discuss strategies for ending world hunger.

Gain said the summit would be a meeting of “global health leaders and policy makers to address hidden hunger, or a lack of access to micronutrients, and forge a vision and strategy for food fortification”.

Global health leaders and organisations who would be present at the summit include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children Fund (Unicef), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The aim of the summit is to “cement support for food fortification ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals review later this month,” said Gain.

Food fortification, said Gain, is important because it is a cost effective solution to combatting reduced cognitive development, maternal and infant mortality and poor economic productivity. Food fortification would play a critical role in ending global poverty.

The organisation added: “By building alliances that deliver impact at scale, we believe that we can eliminate malnutrition within our lifetimes”.

Several speakers are scheduled to speak during the summit, and they include Seif Seleman Rashid, Tanzania’s Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Chris Elias, President of the Global Development Programme and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Francesco Branca, Director of the WHO Department of Nutrition for Health and Development and Vinita Balia, Gain chairperson.

The summit would run from September 9 to 11 at the Naura Springs Hotel, in Arusha.

Gain was established in 2002 to tackle the devastating effects of malnutrition through food fortification. Gain’s efforts has to date reached over 30 countries and 829 million people worldwide. The organisation is on track to reach over a billion people by the end of 2015 and ensure these people receive food fortication that is aimed at improving their overall health and wellbeing.