Togo: West Africa nations begin fortification
Posted by Labels: Africa, Fortification, Micro Nutrient deficiency, Togo Source: Fortification Africa
Flour fortification in Togo began with an August ceremony to announce that fortified flour and cooking oil will be available in the markets there. During the event, 4.8 tons of micronutrient premix for flour and 500 kilograms of vitamin A premix for cooking oil were presented to industry leaders in the West African country. Flour will be fortified with iron, zinc, folic acid and other B vitamins.
Togo’s Minister of Health and Minister of Trade attended the ceremony which followed an official declaration signed 30 July to create a national alliance for food fortification. The official launch of fortified foods in Togo and the neighboring country of Benin is tentatively scheduled for November 2009.
Burkina Faso is planning to begin fortification in December 2009. Senegal has passed a decree for fortification but has not made the document official yet. Currently, countries in Africa with regulations for fortification of at least one type of flour are Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Food fortification “represents the most viable long-term approach to combating micronutrient deficiencies,” noted Komlan Mally, the Togo Minister of State/Minister of Health, at the August ceremony. Health leaders in Togo are also promoting dietary diversification, exclusive breast feeding during the first six months of life, and micronutrient supplementation.
The food fortification work under the regional Fortify West Africa initiative is led by the country’s ministers in collaboration with Helen Keller International (HKI) and UNICEF. Several financial and technical partners contributed toward purchasing equipment and supplies to begin fortification. These include the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Micronutrient Initiative (MI), the West African Health Organization (WAHO), UNICEF, West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), the Professional Association of Cooking Oil Industries (AIFO-UEMOA), as well as the Professional Association of Milling Industries (AIM-UEMOA), and the Government of Togo. Universities in Togo and the milling and oil industries have also been key partners in the process.
A 2000 survey in Togo shows that 76 to 90% of children age 6 to 36 months and more than 40% of women of reproductive age were anemic. Also, according to a 2005 UNICEF report on children in the world, approximately 35% of children younger than 6 years in Togo are deficient in vitamin A
0 comments:
Posting Komentar