Project Mentor: Professor Joseph Menicucci, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
2025 Impact Fellows:
Tara Chelvam '28
Elizabeth Ehrhardt '28
Laurent Tong '28
Project Description:
How do we reduce sodium consumption in Kazakhstan?
High sodium consumption is a ballooning issue worldwide that kills 1.89 million people a year due to the cardiovascular diseases associated with high sodium consumption. The WHO recommends adults to eat approximately 5 grams of salt a day whereas the global average is 10.78 grams of salt a day. Only 28.2% of the countries in the world have mandatory measures to reduce sodium intake, therefore it is going to take a multi-pronged approach that addresses - at the very minimum - high sodium diets at the national health policy level, integrating appropriate food manufacturing approaches, and customer education to address this complex issue. High sodium intake is more prevalent and severe in certain regions of the world, including Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Nations such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
and Bahrain lie in the top five nations in terms of daily sodium intake. Consequently, these regions host higher rates of ischemic heart disease.
Over the coming year, our team will continue to explore, test, and/or implement technology-driven solutions and policy changes targeted at decreasing sodium consumption in Kazakhstan. Additionally, we will continue our collaboration with students from Almaty Management University on this project.
We are looking for students who are interested in global health, health policy, evaluating new technologies, and supporting entrepreneurs looking to develop low-sodium products in Kazakhstan. By joining this project, you will have the opportunity to help inform and develop health policy in Kazakhstan; connect entrepreneurs with emerging technologies to produce high-quality, good-tasting, low-sodium foods; and work on a solution that could have a real, lasting impact on public health in Almaty and beyond.
