Gates Foundation, FG to Digitalise Food Supply in Nigeria
By Zeenat Sambo
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in collaboration with the Nigeria government and other global partners has launched a four-year pilot project to support staple food fortification to ensure better nutrition for all.
The project is meant to develop a digitized system to ensure staple food supply.
Other partners include Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, BASF, Bioanalyt, Camelot Consulting Group, DSM, GH Labs, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and TechnoServe
The idea behind the project is that supply of foods will be fortified with the right levels of essential vitamins and minerals to support good health and nutrition.
The partnership is envisioned to work with fortified food producers on state-of-the-art system to secure nutrients in foods in order to lift health, resilience and productivity in the country.
In the press release by Milinda and Bill Gates Foundation, it was made known that micronutrient content of foods such as wheat flour, maize flour, vegetable oil, margarine, salt, and sugar have not been able to meet national standard.
It stated that Nigeria suffers from widespread vitamin A deficiency, which suppresses the immune system, thus pushing up disease levels.
Among the country’s severe health challenges is anemia, which is driven by insufficient iron in the diet. In 2019, 68.9% of Nigerian children under-5 were anemic”.
This causes permanent developmental setbacks and leads to high maternity rate amongst pregnant women.
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition(GAIN), Country Director, Dr. Michael Ojo, said: “We anticipate this system will allow companies to assure every customer that the nutrient content of their product is guaranteed, reducing health risks and offering a direct path to longer and healthier lives,”.
The digitization initiative is definitely a win-win for the private sector and public health in Nigeria,”
Ogunbela Oludare, Technical Manager from PZ Wilmar added that “Digitization will help Nigerian producers to ensure that we are meeting national standards for fortification while simultaneously increasing the efficiency and profitability of our businesses.”
“The foundation is investing in food fortification markets to provide quality nutritious foods that are affordable for all consumers. Digital innovation will allow nutritional improvements to be assessed and maintained over time,” says Andreas Bluethner, Director of Nutrition at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Meanwhile, Participants in the pilot program will be supported by a team of digital experts who will co-design and install a new digital quality assurance/quality control system.
System diagnostic tools will include in-line sensors for monitoring production processes, calibration aids, and reporting software, which enable producers to receive guaranteed quality and valuable insights.
