Promoting food fortification, workforce nutrition to drive economic growth

Good nutrition is critical to productivity and wealth creation. But experts are worried that the prevalence of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria could worsen the country’s productivity and endanger the economy. Hence, at a roundtable organised recently by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), in collaboration with Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and E-Health Africa, stakeholders urged the government to enforce the legislation of food fortification policy to change the tide. SULAIMON OLANREWAJU reports.

Nutrition is critical to sustainable national development because it has multifaceted economic implications. According to a World Bank report, malnutrition reduces economic growth and perpetuates poverty. The report adds that at the microeconomic level, one per cent loss in adult height as a result of childhood stunting results in a 1.4 per cent loss in productivity of the individual, while at the macroeconomic level, the cost of malnutrition to the economy is estimated to range from two to three per cent of Gross Domestic Product. Malnutrition can subject generations of people and communities to a vicious circle of poverty.

Concerned about the effect of malnutrition on Nigerians, especially the young ones, and the country as a whole, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in collaboration with Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and e-Health Africa organised a roundtable on Promoting Fortification Compliance and Workforce Nutrition in Nigeria Themed: Fortifying Nigeria’s Future. The event held at Sheraton hotel, Lagos penultimate Thursday, raised awareness on promoting fortification compliance and better workforce nutrition in Nigeria.

The media roundtable  was borne out of the  growing concerns about malnutrition and the need for healthier diets, which the organizers and the media 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 welcome address, 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 that food fortification would improve nutrition, health and wealth of the nation.

Rafsanjani said, “According to the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2022, 44.1 per cent of children under the age of five in Nigeria are stunted, meaning they are too short for their age. This is a decrease from 46.0 per cent 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 per cent of adults in Nigeria are overweight and 4.4 per cent 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-two diabetes and some types of cancer.”

He stated that 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 spend more than half of their active hours of the day at work, the workforce, according to Rafsanjani is vulnerable to malnutrition.

He continued: “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 employers 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 in attendance 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 policies, adding that by focusing on the issue, the media could attract the attention of policymakers to it and save millions of Nigerian children from the pangs and pains of malnutrition.

Rafsanjani also asked for the support of regulators, members of the National Assembly, civil society organisations, and food producers. He said, “Together, we can work to ensure that the food fortification policy of 2019 is implemented effectively to ensure a healthier Nigerians.”

Speaking at the event, Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, who was one of the guest speakers, called on the Federal Government to enact a law that would compel stakeholders in the food and fortification industry to ensure that products pushed to the market for the consumption of Nigerians are food fortification compliant.

The lawmaker, who defined nutrition as the science of food in relation to health, and malnutrition as the lack of proper nutrition, said the nation had gotten to the point to enact a law that would enforce compliance with the food fortification policy and compel companies in the sector to prioritise effective workforce program for their workers.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Health said, “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.”

He continued, “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.”

He expressed concern that over two million children under the age of five in Nigerians are malnourished and called for a quick action on the part of government and all stakeholders in the food and fortification sector to address the issue. 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.”

He noted that without proper nutrition, productivity could not be optimal, adding that this would affect the nation’s economic wellbeing.

While enjoining the media to play its role well as ‘opinion moulder’ he said, “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.

While speaking on the role of food fortification in addressing micronutrient deficiency, President of Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Professor Wasiu Akinloye Afolabi, said nutritionally adequate diets continue to be a challenge in many parts of the world, as many food systems do not contain nutritious foods. He, however, noted that if well fortified, such food items would become health for consumption.  Enumerating the benefits of fortified foods, the nutritionist said a recent systematic review and, meta-analysis revealed that large scale food fortification reduced anemia by 34 per cent, goiter by 74 per cent and neural tube defects by 41 per cent.

He advocated for more nutrition education through multiple channels on the need to consume adequate diet for a healthier and stronger immune system, which would boost productivity and reduce risk of chronic illnesses and infectious diseases.

In his paper titled “The Challenges and Successes of Fortification Compliance and Opportunities for Promoting Workforce Nutrition in Nigeria, Professor GbengaOgunmoyela, President/CEO, Consumer Advocacy for Food Safety and Nutrition Initiative (CAFSANI), gave a preamble  of poverty, hunger, malnutrition, fortification, benefits, compliance issues, successes of fortification and challenges.

According to him, poverty, hunger and malnutrition remain a nightmare to the government as they affect mainly vulnerable communities usually made up of children and youths, especially in developing countries like Nigeria. The root of it all he said is lack of money, which leads to low purchasing power.

He said, “In fact, today, an estimated 72 per cent of Nigerians are believed to be living in extreme poverty with income of less than $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 per cent in some states.”

He noted that to combat these problems, investments in micronutrients must be increased because they have higher returns than those from investments in trade liberalization, malaria, or 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.”

Throwing light on the importance of fortification and workforce nutrition, he said Nutrition, Wellness, Health, and Food Safety (NWHFS) issues are quite topical 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. The examples he gave include Vitamin A in flour, sugar and vegetable oils, folic acid in flour, iodine in salt and iron in bouillon cubes.

On workplace nutrition, he said: “It is important 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 the overhaul of the nation’s existing food fortification policy and laws. According to him, “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. She called on the 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 the discussions, the organisers called for the integration of food fortification into the organisations’ policies coupled with targeted sensitisation and awareness at employees’ levels to activate compliance with workforce nutrition, while enhancing productivity in the work environment.

They also 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.

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