Data partnership

Following a request from the World Health Assembly to strengthen global surveillance of micronutrient deficiencies, WHO is upgrading and expanding its global Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition Information System (VMNIS)  One component of VMNIS is the Micronutrients Database that compiles data on vitamin and mineral nutritional status of populations in Member States.

This database is used to monitor micronutrient status around the globe, provide global estimates of the burden of micronutrient deficiencies, and calculate trends in over time. It has recently expanded to become a more comprehensive surveillance system that includes most indicators of micronutrient status being used worldwide today.

IGN has served as the main source of iodine status data while WHO has been upgrading their systems, and in 2021, with the support of Founders Pledge, IGN began a partnership with WHO to update the Micronutrients Database with data on iodine.