West African Countries Move To Fight Micronutrient Deficiencies

West African countries have joined forces to fight against micronutrient deficiencies among children, infants and expectant mothers in the region under the aegis of  “Fortification Alliance”.
Chairman, National Fortification Alliance (NFA),Mr Fred Chiazor, said this during a workshop of the Regional Fortification Alliance yesterday in Abuja.
The Tide’s source reports that the workshop had in attendance representatives of the National Alliance for Food Fortification in ECOWAS countries.
Also in attedance were technical and financial partners like the United States Agency for International Development, (USAID), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Chiazor said that it became imperative for the countries to form alliances to ensure that foods processed, produced and consumed were fortified with the necessary nutrients.
According to him, about 15 countries are making effort to form a regional fortification Alliance.
“The first meeting was held in Cotonou, Benin Republic, to consider the idea of forming a regional alliance.
“We are now coming together to discuss how we can form that alliance, and the whole essence is micronutrient deficiencies in these countries.
“It is to ensure that we can address these issues for children, infants and young infants and expectant mothers.
“We want to see how we can address such  issues by collaborating, sharing experiences in different countries,” he said.
Chiazor said that certain  “vehicles” would  be  used to achieve the aim of  tackling macronutrient deficiencies.
“In Nigeria, we are using about four to five vehicles – wheat flour, sugar, vegetable oil, and salt.
“In the past, we had 20 per cent on vitamin premixes, which is transferred to the producers and producers transferred to the customers.
“The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is magnanimous enough to reduce the tariff to five per cent for us.
“This is making it affordable, because, with salt reduction, it also allows industry producers to be able to use and afford them,” he said.
According to him,  in Nigeria, tremendous progress has been recorded in the fight against micronutrient deficiencies, courtesy of the concerted efforts of all stakeholders involved in their fortification initiatives.
He said that mandatory fortification of selected food vehicles – wheat flour, maize flour, sugar, and vegetable oil started in 2002 to control micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria.
“The NFA, was established in 2004 under the chairmanship of the then National Planning Commission (now Ministry Finance, Budget, and National Planning).