Harry Dunphy, Washington: Nutritionists have developed a powder that helps prevent and treat iron deficiency among young children and, when mixed with other food, helps combat malnutrition, a serious health problem in poor countries.

According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, when the powder, called Sprinkles, was added to children's food in Haiti, anemia was reduced by half and the children were protected from becoming anemic or relapsing during the next seven months.

The study was conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), an independent hunger-fighting organization, and Cornell University's Division of Nutritional Science.

''Sprinkles are an effective and practical tool in reducing anaemia among children,'' said Marie Ruel, director of IFPRI's Food Consumption and Nutrition Division and a co-author of the study.

''When combined with other food aid initiatives, the potential impact is huge.'' In rural Haiti, where at least two out of every three children under 3 years old are anaemic, a food aid program was developed that included cereals fortified with iron and other micronutrients.

Micronutrients are chemical elements, such as iron and zinc, required in minute quantities for the growth of an organism.

Sprinkles, a dry, flavorless powder that contains iron and other vitamins and minerals. After it was added to Haitian children's food for two months, anaemia rates were reduced from 54 percent to 24 percent and had been reduced further to 14 percent seven months later. Anaemia rates remained unchanged for children in the study who did not receive Sprinkles.

While the study was done in Haiti, the powder has been tried in other developing countries, including Bangladesh, Ghana and Indonesia.

In Haiti, Sprinkles were distributed once a month for two months, along with fortified wheat-soy blends. Each month mothers received two resealable plastic packages, each containing 15 sachets of Sprinkles and a pictorial instruction sheet.

Each Sprinkles sachet contained 12.5 mg of iron, along with zinc, vitamin A and vitamin C. The monthly fortified food ration included 8 kilograms of fortified wheat-soy blend and vitamin A-fortified oil.

The sachets, taken once a day, were in powder form as opposed to pills because children involved in the study were 6 to 24 months old. An iron-flavored syrup had been tried previously, but the children did not like the taste.

The cost of a two-month Sprinkles supply was $2 (1.47) for each child, and 415 children participated in the 2005 study.

 According to the study, it is highly feasible to integrate Sprinkles distribution and education into existing food aid programs. Mothers participating in the study indicated they would be willing to buy Sprinkles if sold in local markets because they believe it benefits their children, and they prefer it to other nutrition products.

World Vision-Haiti currently assists mothers with buying Sprinkles from Population Services International, a social marketing firm, which sells them in Haiti under the name ''Babyfer.'' Fer is French for iron.

''Sprinkles are one of the most promising innovations in nutrition today,'' said Purnima Menon, lead author of the study and research associate in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. ''They offer an inexpensive option that mothers seem to love and children can consume easily.''

Sprinkles were developed by Stanley Zlotkin, professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto and founder of the Sprinkles Global Health Initiative.