Experts call on private sector to support education on nutrition deficiency

Stakeholders and experts in the nutrition sector have called on the private sector to strengthen nutrition education through communication tools and strategies against the backdrop of startling revelation that globally, an estimated 165 million children under the age of 5 years are stunted, while 52 million deficient in key vitamins and minerals.

The Country Coordinator, SUN Business Network, a private sector initiative geared towards improving nutrition in over 29 nations in the world, Uduak IgbekaIn, made the call, while speaking at a recent workshop with the theme: “Nutrition Communication and Social Media Marketing.”

The workshop also had in attendance officials from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and Federal Ministry of Health who provided regulatory perspectives on food related policies, among others.

IgbekaIn advocated the need to support businesses to better communicate nutrition to consumers and also to sensitize them on how to maximize the social media for better marketing of nutritious foods, which he said had become more imperative.

According to her, “Delivering the right nutrition messages has become necessary as the average consumer has become more inquisitive about the nutritional value of any product, which can be easily accessed from the comfort of their smart phones.

“Businesses involved in food and related activities must get themselves acquainted with different social media platforms in order to get their product across to the desired consumer.”

While insisting that the importance of how to craft the message cannot be over emphasized to suit not only the platform, but the kind of consumer being targeted, Uduak stressed that the SUN Business network was a network of businesses that had an interest in nutrition and also expanding the nutrition market.

Regulators including NAFDAC, SON and Federal Ministry of Health officials, who also attended the workshop, provided regulatory perspectives on food related policies including the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS).

They also provided clarity to participants on the expectations of the government from product development to product registration as well as communication to consumers.