11th NAFF meeting held
By Cherno Omar Bobb
The 11th National Alliance for Food Fortification (NAFF) meeting facilitated by the National Nurtition Agency (NaNA) and supported by World Food Programme (WFP) was last Monday held at the Senegambia Beach Hotel.
NAFF is established as a Public-Private Partnership coordinating activities related to food fortification. It is the first National Food consumption survey conducted providing up-to-date data on per capita consumption of the target fortified foods and bio-fortified crops.
Dr Amat Bah, Executive Director for the National Nutrition Agency said achievements realised during the project should not disappear with it.
Dr. Bah described food fortification as part of the answer to micronutrient deficiency in the country, adding that as an institution responsibile for eradicating malnutrition in the country, they will ensure the NAFF does not die with the food fortification project.
He explained that in 1999 they conducted a national survey to look at iodine deficiency disorder and discovered that it was a public health problem in The Gambia because only 9 percent of households were consuming iodised salt. “We got to work with partners and in 2020, 77 percent of households are now consuming iodised salt in the country,” he stated.
Sanjally Trawally, Director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry of Health described food fortification as an important component in the fight against malnutrition in the country.
He thanked NaNA and UN bodies for their partnership. He also commended NaNA for their commitment towards the NAFF.
Lamin Drammeh, Food Technologist at World Food Programme thanked FAO for their foresight in establishing the NAFF. Mr. Drammeh pointed out that food fortification is one of the strategies that can be used to address micronutrient deficiency.
Hon. Alagie Sillah of UNIGLOBAL and chairperson of the NAFF said a lot of work has been done towards food fortification but added that there still is more to be done.
COB/15/O6/23
