Fortify is excited to announce that it is a recipient of a charitable contribution from Akebia Therapeutics, a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company. “This grant helps sustain our work towards reducing iron deficiency anemia (IDA), said Nancy K. Martin, CEO & Founder of Fortify. Our organization depends on the generous contributions of individuals and corporate foundations which go towards advocating on behalf of women who often do not know that IDA contributes to their poor health and even to death.” Iron deficiency anemia is the number one public health problem in the world, yet few know about it. It impacts more woman each year than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined, and it is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the world. “Akebia knows that our work is important – part of their mission is to address iron deficiency anemia in adults with chronic kidney disease. We are glad they share a similar mission,” said Martin.
ABOUT FORTIFY
Fortify’s mission is to reduce iron deficiency anemia (IDA) — the leading underlying cause ofmaternal mortality during
childbirth, by driving innovation in food fortification. Fortify is an advocacy organization exclusively focused on finding
the best ways to add iron to the family meal in developing countries where IDA is insidious and pervasive. Fortify works
with food companies that have existing distribution channels to encourage them to help solve micronutrient
malnutrition by adding iron to their tomato products. In much of Africa, tomato paste is part of the everyday meal, which
makes it the ideal food vehicle for iron because tomatoes contain high levels of Vitamin C, a critical nutrient to boost iron
absorption. To accomplish the mission and build awareness, Fortify collaborates with leading organizations, academic
institutions and foundations dedicated to food, nutrition, health, and international development, including the Global
Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), The Wellbeing Foundation of Africa (WBFA), and USAID; and with government
agencies, such as The Federal Ministries of Nigeria and Ghana. Fortify was founded in 2012 and incorporated after
incubating at the prestigious University of Chicago Booth School of Business and winning seed funding at their Social
New Venture Competition.
For more information, visit www.fortifyfood.org, follow Fortify on twitter @FortifyAfrica or LinkedIn or watch here.
ABOUT AKEBIA THERAPEUTICS
Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company with the purpose to better the lives of people
impacted by kidney disease. The Company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For
more information, please visit our website at www.akebia.com.