The Federal Government of Nigeria is partnering with international agencies on the fortification of rice with vitamins and minerals.
This is part of the government’s effort at scaling up the fortification of staple foods with vitamins and minerals to support health and nutrition.
The agencies are Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), TechnoServe, among others.
The collaboration is a Large Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) strategy to guarantee nutritional quality in foods.
A representative of the Ministry of Health, John Uruakpa, who spoke during the launch, stated that food fortification started in 2002, with four food vehicles of flour, sugar, soil and salt on the mandatory list.
The government thereafter recorded about 95 per cent success in fortification of the four food vehicles, and so it was looking to start with rice being another common staple.
Drukpa said: “Most people are not aware of macro-nutrient deficiency; they are only familiar with malnutrition issues such as kwashiorkor.
‘’Macro-nutrient deficiency is known as hidden hunger; a hunger that is in the body and you don’t know until it begins to manifest as a disease.
“Those are the areas where fortification addresses. Night blindness is not a medical issue, but a lack of Vitamin A. Goitre is the result of a lack of iodine, the same way a child develops spina bifida due to the lack of folic acid. The Spina bifida effect happens within 28 days of conception, even before the woman knows she is pregnant. Hence the damage is already done because she lacks folic acid preconception.
“The government has begun looking towards fortifying rice with zinc and iron because at least 80 per cent of families in Nigeria consume rice.”
