THE Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, revealed that malnutrition deficiencies have afftected 20.5 million new babies in Nigeria.
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The Chief Executive Officer, CEO, NESG, Laoye Jaiyeola, made this known yesterday in his welcome address during a webinar in collaboration with eHealth Africa, and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, with theme ‘Developing an Integrated Food Fortification Compliance Framework to address Micronutrient Deficiencies’.
According to Laoye, malnutrition deficiencies are of great concern to the NESG, with 20.5 million new babies and 14.6 per cent having low weight at birth and one out of five children experiencing stunted growth.
He said further that the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic exposed the economic vulnerabilities of African countries, which 155 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty globally.
According to him, “In Nigeria and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, micronutrient deficiencies are common among the people due to over-farmed, depleted and nutrient-lacking soils, low nitrogen in most African soils, high soil acidity, infestation of crops by pests and diseases, and the adverse effects of climate change.”
Meanwhile, the NESG boss urged stakeholders on the need to continually ramp up food fortification to ensure that people don’t just eat but eat well in a way that reduces micronutrient deficiencies.
During the panel session, the Senior Technical Specialist for Quality and Safety, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, GAIN, David Morgan, pointed out that micronutrient deficiency in Nigeria is significant and the national food consumption survey shows there is a massive burden of waste in children in Nigeria, with vitamin A deficiency and anaemia being more prevalent among children.
According to Morgan, some of the challenges related to food fortification compliance include an absence of clear communication of requirements from regulators for smaller industries, the cost of food fortification, monitoring of production and access to trusted, reliable and affordable testing for regulators and producers. He noted that dialogue and improved communication are straightforward ways to improve Nigeria’s food fortification systems.
Also the Deputy Director of scientific and head of Business Development, Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria, Dr Adeyemi Opeoluwa, said tackling poverty will Definitely improve the country’s microeconomic indices, hence the need for support and collaboration between government, the private sector and institutes to improve on these indices.
Opeoluwa added that it is imperative for stakeholders to consider Nigeria’s political and cultural dimensions when enacting policies.
In another remark, the founding Director of Praisegate Services and Consult, Dr Victor Ajieroh, expressed confidence that with a population of 200 million, with conservative estimates, 100 million people can have access to fortified foods through oil, salt, sugar and other food vehicles.
Ajieroh further stated that by ensuring more people have access to fortified foods, the health of the nation will improve, therefore pointed out that the importance of the private sector in ensuring that their products conform with government-set fortification standards is paramount.
He also said food brands should embody values and aspirations that inspire change, and the need for philanthropists to do more to reach the rural areas and to continually meet government standards by helping to create an atmosphere of collaboration and positive conversations from policy, infrastructure and trade points of view that can help address the issues of micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria.
He further stated the importance of governance and digital and retail innovation in curbing the challenges associated with food fortification compliance through innovative procurement mechanisms to solve supply chain problems and improve Nigeria’s food fortification ecosystem.
The Executive Director, CISLAC Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, represented by Mr Murtala Muhammed, maintained that poverty is deep-rooted in the country.
Rafsanjani also said irrespective of the quantity of food, if the proper nutrients are not consumed, the problems of malnutrition will persist.
He noted that sensitization and awareness creation is important, including effective collaborations between all stakeholders to ensure that malnutrition is effectively tackled.
A Food Safety, Nutrition and Standards Development Expert, Dr Omolara Okunlola, said that for large-scale food fortification, kudos must be given to large-scale manufacturers for embracing collaboration and self-regulations embedded in the National Fortification Alliance.
According to Okunlola, manufacturers have a high level of compliance due to the pyramid of monitoring conducted by different government agencies.
However, she reiterated the importance of nutrition labelling, noting that manufacturers need to do more in educating the populace on the importance and benefits of fortified foods.
