When Canadian science graduate Christopher Charles visited Cambodia six years ago, he discovered that anemia was a huge public health problem. Almost half of the population is iron deficient. Instead of bright, bouncing children, Dr Charles found many were small and weak with slow mental development.
But one little fish is changing all that.
The standard solution - iron supplements or tablets to increase iron intake - isn't working. The tablets are neither affordable nor widely available, and because of the side-effects, people don't like taking them.
Enter: The Iron Fish.
Dr Charles' invention, shaped like a fish - which is a symbol of luck in Cambodian culture - releases iron at the right concentration while cooking. One Lucky Iron Fish can provide an entire family with up to 75% of their daily iron intake for up to 5 years.
It’s a simple, affordable, and effective solution anyone can use.
"Boil up water or soup with the iron fish for at least 10 minutes," says Dr Charles. "You can then take it out. Now add a little lemon juice which is important for the absorption of the iron."
According to their website, after 9 months of using the Lucky Iron Fish every day, researches saw a 50% decrease in the incidence of clinical iron deficiency anemia, and an increase in users' iron levels.
And this is just the beginning.