Newsfront Online …Telling the Public as it is
…With the alarming rate of malnutrition among children and the workforce in Nigeria, the federal government must ensure compliance with the Food Fortification Policy, ROYAL IBEH writes
The increasing prevalence of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria is a pressing concern, with dire consequences for the nation’s citizens particularly children and the workforce. Fortification of staple foods with essential micronutrients are viable and cost-effective strategy to combat malnutrition. However, compliance with fortification standards remains a challenge in the country.
Accordingly stakeholders have charged the federal government to enforce the legislation of food fortification policy already in existence. The burden of micronutrient deficiency in Nigeria is alarming, and the World Health Organization (WHO) (2015) classified it as severe. In 2016, anemia prevalence in Nigeria was 68.3 per cent, 48.8 per cent, and 57.8 per cent among children under five years, non-pregnant women 15-49 years of age, and pregnant women 15–49 years of age, respectively.
According to the World Health Organisation, at least a third of the anemia is attributable to iron deficiency. Not only are that, about 42 per cent of children 6–59 months of age vitamin A deficient. Overall, an estimated 21 per cent of the Nigeria population are at risk of inadequate zinc intake. Therefore, proper nutrition is critical for building a strong immune system and helping the body fight off disease and infection.
Worried by the rate of hunger, malnutrition and lack of nutrients that will aid growth mentally and physically amongst citizenry particular children under five and workforce, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in collaboration with Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and e-Health Africa organised a media roundtable on Fortification on Promoting Fortification Compliance and Workforce Nutrition in Nigeria Themed: Fortifying Nigeria’s Future. The event which held in Lagos on Thursday May 18th, 2023 raised awareness on promoting fortification compliance and better workforce nutrition in Nigeria.
Among the guest speakers were chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe; executive director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani; president/CEO, Consumer Advocacy for Food Safety and Nutrition Initiative (CAFSANI), Prof. Gbenga Ogunmoyela; president, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Wasiu Akinloye Afolabi; head Corporate Affairs and Stakeholder Management, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mrs. Ogechi Obiorah, project manager (LSFF Project), e-Health Africa, Toju Ogele and media executives.
The media roundtable on food fortification advocacy was borne out of the growing concerns about malnutrition and the need for healthier diets, the media, the organisers believed could play a critical role in influencing public opinion and driving policy changes in favour of food fortification and improved nutrition in Nigeria.
In his remarks, Senator Oloriegbe called out federal government to strengthen the policy by enacting a law that will compel stakeholders in the food and fortification industry to make it, not only implemented at the production level but also, walk steps further by ensuring related products pushed to the market for the consumption of Nigerians are food fortification compliant. Senator Oloriegbe who defined nutrition as the science of food in relation to health and, malnutrition, as simply the lack of proper nutrition, said the nation had gotten to the point of need for an enactment of law that enforces compliance with the food fortification policy and compels companies in the sector to prioritise effective workforce program for their workers.
Speaking further, the senator defined malnutrition as lack of proper nutrition. “You may have food but cannot eat and can eat but have no food to eat. If you eat food that your body system cannot process”, it is the same thing to say that one is susceptible to malnutrition.
“We need a law that compels nutrition companies to provide nutrition for their workforce because, currently, there is no such law as it is optional. There must be such law. A law should compel compliance with food fortification and promotion of workforce nutrition in Nigeria,” Oloriegbe advocated.
“When you talk about nutrition, you have to talk about the health of the woman that is pregnant, then you talk about the baby because it is a healthy body that gives birth to a healthy baby. The workforce is also involved.
The politician was worried that over two million under age five children in Nigerians are malnourished and called for quick action on the part of government and that all the stakeholders in the food and fortification sector should be compelled to get to work. He also made case for food intake of the workers in food and fortification industry, declaring it a right because, “If you don’t have good nutrition as an adult, you are prone to getting sick and you will be unproductive where the food you eat has no good nutrition” and that is when human resources are not working well, the industry and, by extension, the nation are bound to have their productivity level depleted.
Oloriegbe enjoined the media to play their role well as ‘opinion shaper’ “We need to have knowledge. We need to seek more and more information on this issue of nutrition and then use that capacity, knowledge acquired to inform and advocate.
In his welcome address earlier, the Executive Director Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani said the nation, is currently facing a serious nutrition crisis, which underscores the organisers’ intervention positing food fortification as a proven way to go in improving nutrition and health as well as the wealth of the nation.
He made this position with a task challenging organisations concerned to take the issues of children and workforce nutrition more seriously to improve the productivity level of their employees by implementing relevant measures.
“According to the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2022, 44.1% of children under the age of 5 in Nigeria are stunted, meaning they are too short for their age. This is a decrease from 46.0% in 2018, but it is still a high number. Stunting is a sign of chronic malnutrition and can have long-term consequences for health and development.
“The NDHS also found that 20.3 per cent of children under the age of five in Nigeria are stunted, meaning they are too thin for their height. This is an increase from 19.9 per cent in 2018. Wasting is a sign of acute malnutrition and can be a life-threatening condition.
“The NDHS also found that 18.7% of adults in Nigeria are overweight and 4.4% are obese. This is an increase from 17.4 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively, in 2018. Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer,” Rafsanjaji said.
CISLAC boss believes Food fortification is a proven way to improve nutrition and health as it prevents micronutrient deficiencies, such as anemia, vitamin A deficiency, and iodine deficiency. Although adults spends more than half of their active hours of the day at work, the
Workforce, according Rafsanjani are vulnerable to malnutrition. He said: |”Workers who are not getting the nutrients they need are more likely to be sick, less productive. This can have a significant impact on the economy. To ensure a healthy workforce, he suggested that employees should provide their workers with the nutrients they need, as fortification can help to reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, and improve safety.”
He appealed to the media executives present to help in raising awareness of the importance of food fortification and workforce nutrition as the media plays a critical role in shaping public opinion and influencing policy because by shining a spotlight on this issue, you can help to make a real difference in the lives of millions of Nigerians.
Rafsanjani also sought for the support of regulators, members of the National Assembly, civil society organizations, and food producers. “Together, we can work to ensure that the food fortification policy of 2019 is implemented effectively to ensure a healthier Nigerians.
In his paper titled, “The Role of Food Fortification in Addressing Micronutrient Deficiency,” Prof. Afolabi said nutritionally adequate diets continue to be a challenge in many parts of the world as food systems that do not contain nutritious foods; but if well-fortified, will be a health food consumption. Enumerating the benefits of fortified foods, the University don said a recent systematic review and, meta-analysis revealed that large scale food fortification: reduced anemia by 34 per cent, reduced goitre by 74 per cent, and reduced neural tube defects by 41 per cent.
Afolabi advocated for more nutrition education through multiple channels on the need to consume an adequate diet for a healthier and strong immune system, less risk of chronic illness, infectious, diseases, and increased productivity.
Also, in his paper titled, “The Challenges and Successes of Fortification Compliance and Opportunities for Promoting Workforce Nutrition in Nigeria, Prof. Ogunmoyela gave a preamble of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition, fortification, benefits, compliance Issues, successes of fortification and challenges.
According to him, globally, poverty, hunger, and malnutrition remain a nightmare both to the government as vulnerable community usually made up of mostly children and youths…especially in developing countries like Nigeria. The roots of it all he said is lack of money which leads to low purchasing power. “In fact, today, an estimated 72 per cent of Nigerians are believed to be living in extreme poverty with income of less than US$2 per day. Any wonder why our nutritional indices have become one of the worst in the world with stunting rates and malnutrition at up to 60% in some States. To combat this problems, Prof. Ogunmoyela believed Investments in micronutrients have higher returns than those from investments in trade liberalization, in malaria, or in water and sanitation as ‘No other technology offers as large an opportunity to improve lives at such low cost and in such a short time.”
Why Fortification and Workforce Nutrition? He said Nutrition, Wellness, Health, and Food Safety (NWHFS) Issues are quite topical today and present significant challenges and opportunities in a developing economy like Nigeria. Food Fortification he noted is the addition of micronutrients to food at higher levels than what the food can provide naturally for micronutrient deficiency control. Examples include Vitamin A in flour, sugar and vegetable oils, folic acid in flour, Iodine in Salt, Iron in Bouillon cubes.
Why Workplace Nutrition? “Because it has an immediate impact on employee performance as studies repeatedly show that healthier, less stressed employees are more productive. Nutrition is one of the most important yet neglected components. Ogunmoyela called for overhaul of the nation’s existing food fortification policy and laws. “The problem is a combination of inadequate regulation policy and poor compliance. The current policy and laws that we have are not adequate enough to address all the issues,” he asserted.
In her speech, Head Corporate Affairs and Stakeholder Management, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mrs. Ogechi Obiorah said the food fortification policy is a collective responsibility of stakeholders involved, Obiorah called on Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, West African Cotton Companies and other stakeholders involved in food production to rise to the occasion. She also advocated for budgetary allocation and fund releases for relevant government agencies such as (FCCPC, NAFDAC and SON) to ensure efficient monitoring of food fortification by producers.
At the end of robust discussions, the organisers summed up its conversations and made observations, recommendations and next steps with commitments taken from media organisations.
Recommendations of the Roundtable were detailed in the communiqué, jointly signed by (Rafsanjani), Senator Oloriegbe, Professor Ogunmoyela and Professor Afolabi. In the nine recommendations, the organisers called for prioritization of food fortification across manufacturing process and production chains through proactive media reportage that promotes well-informed citizens on appropriate food choices.
They called for the integration of food fortification into the organisations’ policies coupled with targeted sensitisation and awareness at employees’ levels to activate compliance to workforce nutrition, while enhancing productivity in the work environment.
They highlighted the cost-benefits of development and implementation of workplace nutrition policy incorporating food fortification to encourage investment that promotes employees’ health and socio-economic well-being as well as best practice at organisational levels.
The organisers also called for formulation and implementation of Food Fortification Policy incorporating effective regulatory framework, compliance to standards and food safety as well as social behavioural change communication for consumers.
(leadership.ng)
