Scientist Venkatesh Mannar honoured with Order of Canada Award

Venkatesh Mannar a Channai-born Scientist of Indian Origin and President, Micronutrient Initiative, Canada was awarded with Canada’s Highest Civilian Award – the Order of Canada in the last week of December 2012. Mannar, a Graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and a post graduate in chemical engineering from Northwestern University, US, was honoured with the award for his forty years long contribution working towards reduction of debilitating micronutrient deficiencies among the worlds most vulnerable.

Micronutrient Initiative

The not-for-profit organization, Micronutrient Initiative is dedicated towards ensuring the world’s most vulnerable, the children and the women mainly in the developing countries get a proper amount of minerals and vitamins (supplements) that they require for survival and it tries to thrive the same through food fortification programme. The organization works for identifying, development, implementation and monitoring the cost effective solutions for hidden hunger. The Support offered by Canada to the organization allows it to improve lives of more than 500 million people in 70 different countries, annually.  All this is being done through different programs of the organization and they are child health, child survival, growth and development, and women’s and newborn survival and health programs.

Order of Canada Award

The Order of Canada instituted by Queen Elizabeth II in the year 1967 is a Canadian National Order and is the second highest honour of merit in the Country. It is placed next to Order of Merit. The order is given to people with lifetime outstanding achievements and their dedication towards the community and service to the nation and people in Canadian Society in all the sectors.