Food Fortification Project to Combat Malnutrition in Tanzania

By:Zaynab Turuku
15 March 2010
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Nairobi — The Japan Social Development Fund has disbursed $2.69 million through the World Bank, to fight malnutrition in Tanzania.The programme will support food fortification in rural areas that are not reached by the national food fortification programme.
Last week, stakeholders from across the globe gathered at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) offices in Dar es Salaam to discuss the importance of food fortification, ways to increase the same and encourage media participation in changing societal perception on fortified products.
Statistics released at the conference showed that 27,000 children in Tanzania die each year due to vitamins and mineral deficiencies, while 1,600 women die as a result of complications related to anaemia during child-birth.
In a past project to encourage the use of fortified foods, negative perceptions posed a huge challenge.
Vincent Assay from the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC) said, iodine capsules were distributed to women and goitre sufferers in severely affected districts, in a bid to control the alarming death rates associated with the condition, but the programme was not well received
"The people questioned why the facilitators had travelled all the way from Dar es Salaam to give them free iodine, believing that the capsules would lead to infertility," said Mr Assay. Godwin Ndossi, the centre's managing director said the project eventually folded because the capsules were too costly."A single capsule was selling at Tsh800 ($0.59) making purchases difficult," Dr Ndossi said.
Janneke Jorgensen, a nutrition specialist at the World Bank's Health, Nutrition and Population sector said, in a bid to change perceptions, the programme, would not provide free products this time round.
"There is a negative perception on free goods. Fortified foods are of superior quality as they contain more nutrients; Even if we sold them to affected communities, they would still offer good value for money," said Ms Jorgensen.
Dr Ndossi said micronutrients deficiencies pose devastating health threats not only to the education of the affected, but also to human dignity and economic growth.
"Iron deficiency in adults decreases work productivity by up to 17 per cent per year, while 90 per cent pre-school children's learning capacity is impaired," said Dr Ndossi. He added: "Economically, micronutrients deficiencies cost the government approximately $480 million (Tsh650 billion) each year."
Accruing losses
Until fortified foods are available in Tanzania, it is estimated that the country will lose over $111million (Tsh150 billion) each year through decreased productivity, according to TFNC.
Raymond Wigenge from the Tanzania Food and Drug Administration said the country was also losing out on the export of fortified salt (ionised salt) which is preferred by many overseas markets due to the slow pace of food fortification.
Dr Wigenge said the Salt Iodations Regulation Act of 1994, controls the use and distribution of non-ionised salt which still circulates in the country.
"We inspect, and if we find any, we destroy it," said Dr Wigenge.
Celestin Mgoba from TFNC said: Standardisation of the fortification process is delaying the process. We want to harmonise WHO standards with local standards and come up with the best standardisation," he said.

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