Didier Drogba partners with Danone in pan-African campaign to combat childhood iron deficiency

Former football star Didier Drogba has collaborated with Danone Nutricia Africa in a new initiative aimed at raising awareness and screening children across the continent for iron-deficiency anaemia, highlighting its impact on early development.

Didier Drogba has joined Danone Nutricia Africa in a new pan-African drive to raise awareness of iron-deficiency anaemia in children. The campaign, unveiled in mid-August 2026 under the slogan “Fort Comme le Fer”, is aimed at families across several African countries and seeks to draw attention to a health problem that can slow early childhood development.

The World Health Organisation says anaemia remains a major public health issue, affecting mainly young children, pregnant women and women of reproductive age. In children aged six to 59 months, the condition is linked to poorer cognitive and motor development, while iron deficiency is the most common cause. WHO has also warned that detecting iron deficiency early in pregnancy and in young children is important because the effects on brain development, learning and later academic performance can be severe and, in some cases, irreversible.

A 2020 review in Archives de pédiatrie by Professors Lemoine and Tounian found that paediatric anaemia affects more than 60% of children in some sub-Saharan African countries. The authors said iron supplementation could prevent roughly a third of anaemia cases among African children, underscoring the scale of the challenge facing health systems and families.

Danone presents the initiative as part of its wider Iron Up programme, which is focused on tackling iron-deficiency anaemia in children. The company says it has already supported three million tests and wants to help reach 14 million children screened by 2030. It is also putting digital tools for parents on the Blediclub Africa platform, including a calculator for iron intake and an iron assessment tool.