When most people think of sprinkles, they think of cake and ice cream- the word “healthy” doesn’t usually come to mind.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is trying to change that perception in some parts of the world with their new take on the treat: multi-nutrient powders designed to fight malnutrition. Billions of people around the world suffer from an insufficient diet.

These sprinkles aren’t your typical ice cream parlor, rainbow-colored fare.  Instead, they are sachets of powdered vitamins and minerals that enable mothers to fortify the food their children used in homes.

And so far, these newfangled sprinkles are  working.

GAIN reports that its Kenya Sprinkles Distribution project, which began in 2007, has resulted in fewer nutritional deficiencies among children under five years of age.

And they’re not just for kids.  The multi-nutrient powders are ensuring adolescent girls and pregnant women receive essential nutrients.  GAIN maintains it is a proven, cost-effective way to improve the health and well-being of millions of people and communities around the world.

“A study from GAIN and the U.S. Center for Disease Control found children consuming the multi-nutrient powders in rural areas of Kenya saw a reduction in iron deficiency, vitamin A deficiency and anemia,” of 14 , 10 and 11 percent respectively, Adrianna Logalbo, of GAIN told ABC News.

One key to the success of the multi-nutrient supplement project is that kids like them.

“The first thing she asks for is sprinkles” said Loice Anteieno Ojoro, a Kenyan mother, speaking about her young daughter. “My other child opens the cupboard, finds the sprinkles, brings it to me and asks me to add it.”

Kelin Auma Oluch, another Kenyan mother saw dramatic  improvements to her child’s health after she started adding the supplement to the food she cooked. “I saw a lot of changes-I noticed my child’s appetite increased a lot. My child that was weak now is strong,” she said.

“The use of micronutrient powder is one of the easy ways that we can combat malnutrition,” said Rosemary Otiende, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Kenya.

The powdered sprinkles come in small packets of up to 15 essential vitamins and minerals at a cost of 3-5 cents per pack. By sprinkling them on food, low-income families have a better chance of receiving the critical nutrients they need to thrive.

GAIN already has multi-nutrient powder supplement programs running in Bangladesh and is about to launch in  Ethiopia, where the multi-nutrient powders will be handed out to children 6 months to 2 years of age and women of childbearing age.

The supplement program is just one of GAIN’s projects addressing malnutrition. According to the organization, it has worked alongside more than 600 companies in over than 25 countries, reaching close to 400 million people with nutritionally enhanced food products over the last decade.

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