FG, CS-UNN Begin Campaign on Branded Fortified Edible Oil

•67% of Nigerians consume unbranded edible oils

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The federal government and the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) have commenced advocacy on the use of branded edible oil fortified with micronutrients.

According to a Micronutrients Survey conducted by the government in 2021, 67 percent of Nigerians are consuming unbranded oil, while only 31 percent of the edible oils were fortified.

In a nationwide advocacy campaign spearheaded by the government along with CS-SUNN in partnership with E-Health Africa, and with strategic support from GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition), the parties sought to develop strategies to enhance compliance with fortification standards and ensure fortified oils reach consumers at the recommended levels.

Speaking at the two-day workshop in Abuja, the Director of Nutrition at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ladi Bako-Aiyegbuisi, described the meeting as a critical step in repositioning food fortification in Nigeria.

She acknowledged key participants, including the Abia State PS, State Nutrition Officers (Lagos, Abia, Kano), and CS-SUNN coordinators.

According to her, despite over 20 years of fortification efforts, malnutrition remains alarming: with 67 percent of Nigerians consuming unbranded oil, while only 31 percent of the edible oils are fortified.

She said the target was to reduce unbranded oil consumption from the present 67 percent threshold to zero percent within four years.

While stressing the role of the media in attaining the goal, Bako-Aiyegbuisi commended CS-SUNN for supporting the government in convening this dialogue.

Key agenda of the meeting was how to address the widespread consumption of non-fortified, unbranded oils to improve food safety and nutritional standards and promoting healthier dietary practices among workers to enhance productivity and well-being.

Speaking in an interview with journalists, the Senior Technical Adviser of Civil Society, CS-SUNN, Dr. Olanrewaju David Olayemi, said it was disheartening that only 33 percent of families in Nigeria consume fortified edible oil.

He said what it meant was that two out of every three Nigerians consumes unbranded edible oil and therefore unfortified oil.

“Our campaign is aimed at better health through large scale food fortification and phasing out of non-fortified oils in Nigeria.”

Olayemi said the campaign, which would run till the end of the year, was aimed at convincing people to change their behavior using the instrumentality of the traditional media and social media to be able to get our messages through.

According to him, the campaign was commencing at the national level and would also take place in three states namely Lagos, Abia and Kano

He said it was expected that all edible oil coming into the country would be branded, which meant that it would be easier to enforce quality control, adding effort will now focus on ensuring that locally produced oil is also branded.

“The only way we can trace and evaluate the oil is by branding. When the oil is branded, it will be easier for the regulatory bodies like NAFDAC, Standard Organisation of Nigeria to regulate their quality,” he said

Olayemi identified some of the challenges affecting the promotion of the sale and consumption of fortified edible oil to include poor regulatory enforcement, lack of capacity, and empowerment of the agencies mandated to regulate the sector.