Celebrating the Women Powering Better Nutrition Across Africa and Asia
This International Women’s Day, Millers for Nutrition spotlights outstanding women across our countries of implementation who are advancing food fortification along the value chain. While their roles differ, their shared impact is clear: healthier, better-nourished populations.
Millers for Nutrition proudly marks International Women’s Day 2026 by celebrating the women powering better nutrition across Africa and Asia. Millers for Nutrition is a coalition of key food fortification stakeholders dedicated to helping millers fortify staple foods, including wheat and maize flours, edible oil, and rice.
The coalition supports millers in eight countries across Africa and Asia, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Tanzania. Millers for Nutrition is powered by TechnoServe with funding support from the Gates Foundation.
Micronutrient deficiencies are a significant health crisis that affect an estimated 3 billion people globally, with the majority of affected populations residing in low- and middle-income countries. While global efforts have successfully reduced some forms of malnutrition and their associated effects, micronutrient deficiencies persist, resulting in severe physical, cognitive, and socioeconomic impacts. Large-scale food fortification is promoted as a cost-effective strategy to improve micronutrient intake and reduce micronutrient deficiencies among populations.
Across Africa and Asia, millions of families depend on fortified foods to meet their daily nutrition needs. Behind this progress are dedicated women applying their expertise and leadership to ensure fortified foods are produced safely, consistently, and to standard. From factory floors and quality laboratories to executive leadership and technical advisory roles, these women are strengthening food systems and improving nutrition outcomes in their communities.
Driving a Malnutrition-Free Vision in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh’s fortified rice landscape, Dr. Naznin Afroz, chairperson of N.K Foods, is advancing a powerful vision: fortified rice as a national responsibility.
With a strong academic foundation in nutrition, she leads with a clear understanding of the consequences of micronutrient deficiencies.
“As the owner of N.K Foods, my role goes beyond business leadership. It is about protecting public health.”
Under her leadership, the company prioritizes strict adherence to national and international standards, rigorous quality control, and full traceability. For Dr. Afroz, every batch of fortified rice represents trust delivered to families across Bangladesh.
She identifies key industry challenges, including the need for a skilled workforce, continuous monitoring, appropriate technology, and strong supply chain coordination. Her response has been to invest heavily in structured quality systems and staff capacity.
Her message to young women is firm and empowering:
“Do not wait for permission to lead — take responsibility, step forward, and own your space.”
Leading Purpose-Driven Fortified Rice in India
In India’s rapidly advancing nutrition landscape, Srree Vaishnavvi, CEO of KCP Nutri Poshan, is helping position fortified rice as a powerful public health tool.
For Srree, fortified rice is a mission, not just a product line.
“At its core, food is about building healthier communities and stronger futures.”
Working closely with a cross-functional leadership team, she embeds purpose into operational decisions. In nutrition-focused industries, she noted, leadership carries a deeper responsibility.
“Decision-making isn’t only about operations or profit. It is about trust, health, and impact. Every choice matters.”
One defining milestone was establishing the company’s plant fully in line with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). BIS is India’s national body responsible for developing quality, safety, and performance standards for products, including food items like fortified rice. This move is not simply compliance, but a public commitment to improving health outcomes.
Srree speaks candidly about the realities women face in male-dominated industries, but views these challenges as forces that have strengthened her leadership. She attributes her effectiveness to strong team management and the ability to remain calm under pressure, qualities she believes are critical in sectors where quality failures can have real public health consequences.
With rice consumed daily in millions of Indian households, she sees enormous potential for fortified rice to reduce micronutrient deficiencies at scale.
Beyond the Bowl in Indonesia
As a director at PT. Thara Jaya Niaga in Indonesia, Diyan Anggraini is redefining what it means to deliver quality food. Where many see a simple grain of rice, she sees a foundation for national well-being.
Recognizing women as nutritional gatekeepers in many households, Diyan views fortification as both a technical and social responsibility.
“As women and mothers, we must ensure that fortified foods meet quality and safety standards because we make the decisions on what food is eaten at home.”
Two milestones continue to anchor her mission: witnessing anaemic pregnant women deliver healthy babies after consuming fortified rice, and reaching marginalized communities such as the nomadic Orang Laut tribe.
Supported by Millers for Nutrition through technical assistance and expanded expertise, Diyan continues to navigate market challenges with determination. For her, quality ultimately means full compliance and consumer trust.
“Be a visionary. Have an ambitious goal that can drive you to work toward realizing healthy, nutritious food systems for the good of society.”
Moving Nigeria Beyond Compliance
Few voices in Nigeria’s nutrition space combine technical authority and entrepreneurial drive like Dr. Rachael Adeyemi, MD and CEO of Nutrients Innovation Tech Limited. With more than two decades of experience, her journey reflects a steady evolution from technical expert to industry builder and national advocate.
She began her career in the early 2000s as a production manager with an Indigenous micronutrient blender, rising through senior technical roles before launching her own company. About five years ago, she intentionally expanded into human nutrition, recognizing the urgent need to strengthen the quality of foods consumed by everyday Nigerians.
Today, her company supports both mandatory and voluntary fortification across multiple food vehicles. Food vehicles are food products (such as rice, wheat flour, and edible oil) that can be fortified by adding fortificants.
Her path has not been without obstacles. She speaks openly about credibility bias in technical spaces and the heightened scrutiny women entrepreneurs often face when seeking financing. Her response has been consistent: deepen technical competence, build confidence, and let performance speak for itself.
Nigeria has made strong progress on mandatory fortification. But Dr. Adeyemi’s long-term vision goes further: a future in which manufacturers voluntarily embrace fortification as a core corporate responsibility.
“What I look forward to is a Nigeria where manufacturers see fortification as their responsibility, not just a rule to follow.”
Her advice to young women is direct: build strong technical knowledge, earn credibility through consistent performance, and anchor confidence in purpose.
Raising the Bar for Fortified Food Quality in Tanzania
For more than 16 years, Salma Othman has helped shape food quality standards in Tanzania’s milling sector. As the quality assurance manager at Said Salim Bakhresa Co. Ltd., she works at the critical intersection of food safety, nutrition, and consumer trust.
Salma began her journey as a quality assurance officer and now oversees systems that ensure fortified products consistently meet required specifications. For her, quality is not a single checkpoint; it is a discipline embedded across the entire production chain.
From sourcing reliable raw materials to monitoring warehouse conditions, production parameters, and dispatch hygiene, she maintains oversight throughout. She also prioritizes staff competency, ensuring machine operators fully understand the fortification process.
Working in a technically demanding and male-dominated environment has brought its own learning curve. In her department, only two women are present, and fewer than 10 work across production. Yet Salma has steadily built both confidence and authority.
She credits tailored technical trainings, including support from Millers for Nutrition and Tanzania Food Fortification Alliance, a multi-stakeholder coordination body comprising government, industry, and partners, aimed at reducing micronutrient deficiencies through food fortification, with strengthening her ability to improve performance systems.
Looking ahead, Salma envisions a Tanzania where consumers themselves actively demand fortified flour, where awareness is strong enough that households make informed nutrition choices independently. Regarding the need for more women to join this field, she noted:
“With so few women currently in the space and with women disproportionately affected by micronutrient deficiencies, I believe their voices and expertise are urgently needed.”
Delivering Quality with Purpose in Pakistan
In Pakistan’s evolving fortification landscape, Fatima Shoaib stands out as a leader who is raising the bar for quality and accountability. As director at Waseem Sharif Ghee and Oil Industries, she brings both technical rigor and deep personal commitment to consumer wellbeing.
Fatima approaches her work with a distinctly human lens. Rather than seeing abstract market segments, she sees families whose health depends on the products her company produces.
“As a woman in the food industry, my role is very important. Like a housewife who worries about her family, I consider my customers as my family, and I am concerned about their health.”
Coming from a family where cultural expectations can sometimes limit women’s participation in industry, Fatima views her presence in the sector as meaningful beyond her immediate role. She takes pride in serving as a visible example for other women navigating similar environments.
Maintaining high standards is never without challenges. For Fatima, resilience and problem-solving are essential, especially in fortification, where precision in micronutrient dosing and quality systems directly affects public health outcomes.
She credits her progress to education, self-belief, and strong family support. Through engagement with Millers for Nutrition, her company has further strengthened its fortification processes through targeted technical assistance and training.
Her message to young women is clear: believe in your abilities and commit to continuous learning. The food system, she emphasizes, needs more skilled women ready to lead change.
While each woman featured works in a different country and role, their contributions are united by a shared purpose: strengthening food fortification systems to improve nutrition outcomes.
Millers for Nutrition remains committed to supporting women across the fortification value chain by strengthening systems, building capacity, and promoting inclusive participation. This International Women’s Day, we celebrate women and the vital work they do every day to nourish nations.
