By Justina Auta
An International Non-Government Organisation (NGO), Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), says it’s targeting at least 4.5 million Nigerians to access fortified food for nutrition and improved healthy diets.
Dr Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, GAIN made this known while interacting with the media on Tuesday, in Abuja.
Haddad explained the aim was to improve access of 1.5 billion people globally to nutritionally enhanced staple foods, healthier diets and positive food systems in 10 countries by 2030.
“ Our mission statement is to make more people access healthy food. Making nutritious food available, affordable and more desirable because it is competing against junk foods, which are available and tasty.
“We work in the food system to reduce malnutrition in many ways through the health system but we do it through the food system,’’ he said.
He said GAIN was supporting the government in several programmes to transform food systems for healthier diets among citizens.
“Hungry people are angry people and angry people often don’t have enough hope and have nothing to lose, so are very dangerous when it comes to conflict.
“The government’s first job is to reduce hunger and make sure people do not miss meals, but they don’t have to forget about nutrition in their programmes.
“Part of our job is to invest in healthier food because that is investing in the economy 20 years down the road, as well as reducing a whole range of suffering.
“Malntrition is the only condition that physically affects the shape of a human, what you look like and how you function as a human being.
“We have to make politicians as obsessive about child growth as they are about economy growth.’’
Also, Dr Micheal Ojo, Nigeria’s Country Director, GAIN, explained that the fortified foods were produced by business owners, who operated within governments’ policies, rules and regulations.
Ojo stressed the need for data to enable government and other stakeholders strategise on implementing policies that would address malnutrition and improve health.
“Inflation in food prices has to do with policies, supply chain, but they can be addressed. That shows that the food system is critical in bringing down the prices of food and raising the importance in nutrition.
On her part, Joyce Akpata, head of policy and Advocacy said, “If effective policies are put in place and are cascaded to state level, then we will be able to ensure that we have impact.
“We are working to support government to effectively implement the National Pathway to food system transformation that is expected to help align policies beyond sectorial policies.’’
Similarly, Dr Abbas Yusuf, Deputy Country Director, GAIN, said 80 per cent of food in the country came from local farmers.
He, therefore, emphasised the need to support them in production and improving the food systems for healthier diets and addressing malnutrition.
The National Bureau for statistics (NBS) 2022 reports show that 133 million Nigerians, live in multi-dimensional poverty.
The National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey (NFCMS) 2021 report shows that nine out of 10 persons in Nigeria cannot afford healthy diets, while 79 per cent of households in Nigeria are food insecure. (NAN)