CEO Laoye Jaiyeola shared this information during a webinar on "Developing an Integrated Food Fortification Compliance Framework to address Micronutrient Deficiencies," organized in collaboration with eHealth Africa and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).

Jaiyeola expressed the NESG's deep concern regarding malnutrition, highlighting the alarming statistics of 14.6% of newborns with low birth weight and one in five children experiencing stunted growth.

Additionally, Jaiyeola pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed economic vulnerabilities, leading to 155 million people globally being pushed into extreme poverty, particularly in African countries.

He said: “In Nigeria and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, micronutrient deficiencies are common among the people due to over-farmed, depleted and nutrient-lacking soils, low nitrogen in most African soils, high soil acidity, infestation of crops by pests and diseases, and the adverse effects of climate change.”

Meanwhile, the NESG boss urged stakeholders on the need to continually ramp up food fortification to ensure that people don’t just eat but eat well in a way that reduces micronutrient deficiencies.

During the panel session, the Senior Technical Specialist for Quality and Safety, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, GAIN, David Morgan, pointed out that micronutrient deficiency in Nigeria is significant and the national food consumption survey shows there is a massive burden of waste in children in Nigeria, with vitamin A deficiency and anaemia being more prevalent among children.

According to Morgan, some of the challenges related to food fortification compliance include an absence of clear communication of requirements from regulators for smaller industries, the cost of food fortification, monitoring of production and access to trusted, reliable and affordable testing for regulators and producers. He noted that dialogue and improved communication are straightforward ways to improve Nigeria’s food fortification systems.

Also the Deputy Director of scientific and head of Business Development, Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria, Dr Adeyemi Opeoluwa, said tackling poverty will Definitely improve the country’s microeconomic indices, hence the need for support and collaboration between government, the private sector and institutes to improve on these indices.