Iron is an essential element as it participates in a wide variety of metabolic processes, including oxygen transport, DNA synthesis, neural development, and overall cell function in the human body.
Recent studies however reveal that during adolescence, hormonal, cognitive, and physiological changes lead to increased velocity of growth which creates a greater demand for nutrients.This, in addition to the loss due to menstruation increases the iron requirement for adolescent girls by between 50 and 60 % compared to earlier years.
Adjusting to this rapid increase in iron requirement is a challenge, thereby resulting in adolescent females being at high risk for iron deficiency anaemia. During pregnancy, the amount of iron needed is tripled compared to that of adult men because extra iron is required for increasing the hemoglobin mass and blood volume of the mother and fetal growth. Hence, it is challenging to meet these high iron requirements through diet alone and therefore iron deficiency anaemia is common in pregnant women.
With roughly half of anaemia cases caused by iron deficiency, 49% of women at reproductive age in Nigeria have anaemia, according to 2014 Global Nutrition Report.
More worrisome is a 2008 dietary diversity assessment done in six States which reveals that majority of Nigerians do not consuming enough foods that are high in iron. According to the assessment, only 38% eat fruits and vegetables, including leafy green vegetables on a daily basis and only 33% consume meat daily.
NgoziNnam, President, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, explained that vitamin and mineral deficiencies are among the largest public health challenges facing the country right now. According to Nnam, who is also a professor of Nutrition, “Our health system is already overburdened, so we need to educate people on how they can help prevent deficiencies through healthy diets.”
ToyinSaraki, chief executive officer, WellBeing Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on maternal and child health, stated that “Teenage girls who need 50% more iron than when they were younger to cope with their bodies changes and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to anaemia. Saraki added that initiatives that encourage better nutrition such as Knorr’s can really have a positive impact on maternal health in Nigeria, which is among the worst in Africa.
It is noteworthy to state that Unilever has set up an inclusive business model “Gbemiga” with several partners in Nigeria, such as the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Growing Business Foundation and Society for Family Health (SFH). The model aims to improve the living standards by training the women to sell nutritious products and reinforcing the dietary changes that can help reduce the prevalence of iron deficiency in families across the country.
To help smallholder farmers become part of a sustainable supply chain in Nigeria, Knorr is partnering with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), with the aim of training local farmers in sustainable agriculture, equip them with requisite skills required to become part of this long-term sustainable supply chain and improve their livelihoods. This builds on the company’s global experience supporting smallholder farmers and their communities with training, finance, nutrition and hygiene programmes.
