The prevalence of Micro-Nutrient Deficiency, also known as ‘Hidden hunger’ has become a major devastating nutritional problem affecting the health of children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. With major micronutrient disorders such as iodine deficiency disorder, vitamin A deficiency, and iron deficiency order prevalent in the country, available evidence show that Nigerians had and still has one of the highest child and maternal mortality globally, with vitamin A deficiency being a major contributory factor.
Speaking during the flag-off of Food fortification social marketing campaign in Lagos, Paul Orhii, Director General, National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), said that the Agency had organised several social marketing campaigns in the past to promote Universal Salt Iodization (USI) which was a huge success.
While noting that a similar success can be achieved in food fortification with other micro-nutrients, especially Vitamin A through social marketing, Ugochukwu Mainasara, Director, Food safety and Applied Nutrition, NAFDAC, who represented Paul Orhii, stated that there is need to sustain such campaign and increase awareness of other nutrient fortification that are critical in eliminating malnutrition amongst the vulnerable groups (children under the age of five and pregnant women)
According to the DG “Social marketing promotes beneficial product, behavior in an acceptable way to people. A complete social marketing strategy not only promotes a good product but also maintains political support and motivates healthcare providers. A lot of effort has been put to ensure the success of this program. I hope awareness level may step up as previously attained and sustained.
“Food fortification holds a great potential in curbing malnutrition, which is a public health issue in improving nutrition. I wish to extend appreciation to Global Alliance for improved Nutrition (GAIN) for the confidence imposed on NAFDAC to help with execution of Phase 3 of their Food fortification Project in Nigeria which will run till 2015. This has provided us with the much cherished project of safeguarding public health through collaborative partnerships to eliminate hidden hunger.”
In the late 1990s, the Vitamin A Food Fortification group of experts which included officers of NAFDAC and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) identified three food vehicles-flour, sugar and vegetable oil- to be used for the fortification programme and established the levels for each of the nutrients.
While the mandatory fortification took effect officially in September 2002, a cursory look at major challenges facing the country as regards Vitamin A fortification show that continued smuggling of non-fortified edible vegetable oil and sugar into the country, existence of cottage industries involved in making of maize flour and manual production of edible vegetable oil that do not have the facility to fortify their products confronts the nation.
While NAFDAC is making efforts to mop up smuggled non-fortified food vehicles, stakeholders in the health sector believe there is need for strengthened and continued collaboration among relevant government agencies in order to prevent the influx of these products into the country.
In addition, there is also the need to look at the possibility of providing retail packs of Vitamin A premixes and sprinkles which cottage industries can easily afford in order to ensure 100 percent mandatory fortification of chosen food vehicles in Nigeria.
By: Alexander Chiejina
