Key stakeholders from across Nigeria are urging immediate action to resolve regulatory hurdles that are impeding the implementation of food fortification standards nationwide.
Nigeria faces one of the world’s most severe malnutrition crises. Nearly one-third of Nigerian children under five are stunted by malnutrition, while millions of women and girls experience critical shortages of vital micronutrients. The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition reports that more than 31% of children aged 6–59 months lack sufficient vitamin A, while 35% suffer from zinc deficiency. Among women of reproductive age, iron deficiency affects 10%, climbing to 26% during pregnancy.
Experts caution that these hidden deficiencies can damage cognitive development, lower productivity, and contribute to higher rates of child and maternal mortality. Food fortification—enriching everyday staples with essential nutrients like iron, vitamin A, folic acid, iodine, and zinc—remains one of the most effective strategies to fight malnutrition at scale.
In response to these challenges, Nigeria Health Watch recently brought together stakeholders from government, business, civil society, and development agencies at a Nutrition Roundtable in Abuja. The event, themed “Fortifying Nigeria’s Future: Strengthening Nutrition Through Local Solutions,” focused on advancing dialogue and local action.
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During the roundtable, Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, Director of Nutrition at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, highlighted that food fortification is a practical, scalable strategy to boost public health—especially in communities where diverse diets are hard to access.
She pointed out that since 1993, Nigeria has mandated the fortification of widely consumed goods like sugar, salt, vegetable oil, and flour. This move, she said, was achieved in collaboration with industry partners.
Despite sound policies, Bako-Aiyegbusi acknowledged ongoing obstacles with compliance. Key issues include insufficient local premix production, dependence on imported inputs, currency fluctuations, inflation, and high manufacturing costs.
Premix, the fortified ingredient central to the process, makes up 84–97% of total fortification costs—a significant financial burden, particularly for Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs). Delays in clearing these imports at Nigerian ports can also erode the quality of essential nutrients by the time they reach producers.
While the government has launched supportive policies and tax incentives to stimulate investment, roundtable participants agreed that the most urgent priority is building Nigeria’s own capacity for local premix production and reducing reliance on imports.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that fortification standards are strictly adhered to nationwide.
Mrs. Felicitas Anyanwu, Deputy Director at NAFDAC’s Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate, emphasized the agency’s role in guaranteeing that staple foods reach Nigerians fortified with vital nutrients. She noted that strengthening laboratory services, ensuring premix quality, expanding training, and providing more incentives for producers are critical for success.
Dr. Vivienne Ihekweazu, Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch—speaking through Deputy Director Safiya Isa—described Nigeria’s malnutrition crisis as “silent” yet hugely damaging. According to her, inconsistent compliance among producers, especially MSMEs, continues to threaten progress. Barriers such as high costs, limited access to affordable premix, and weak quality controls must be overcome for fortification programmes to deliver lasting impact in the fight against “hidden hunger.”
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