For effective implementation of Food and Nutrition Policy (FNP), experts have said that it should be viewed as a multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary issue which combines agriculture, health, science, commerce and industry sectors, instead of a ‘Standalone’ regulation.
According to them, the domestication of the FNP document will require a ministry of Food and Nutrition headed by a nutritionist that should implement the FNPs.
Speaking during a webinar organised by MediaCraft Association Ltd themed ‘The case for a protein- centred National Nutrition policy’ the experts said there is a need to actively pursue the development and implementation of a protein-centred national nutrition policy in the quest to curb the menace of protein deficiency and contribute to efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 2 which deals with improvement in nutrition.
“Dearth of nutritionist in the ministries presently saddled with implementing the FNPs and the encroachment of nutrition-related professionals in nutrition policy matters,” said Oganah-Ikujenyo, a seasoned nutritionist and teacher at Department of Home Economics, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Oto/Ijanikin, Lagos.
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She said that there are several barriers that can hinder the effective implementation of a protein centred nutrition policy and the instability of government and policy summersaults and distrust of government by citizens.
“Lack of goodwill from the government to drive FNP plus financial constraints, there should be no conflict of interest. The current situation where nutrition is in the ministry of health and also agriculture present a challenge,” she said.
However, FNP is a framework designed by the government to solve the problems of malnutrition and food and nutrition insecurity in Nigeria. It is also a document that should guide the government’s plans, decisions and strategies in matters that have to do with food cultivation, production, processing, packaging, marketing and consumption.
“The role of nutrition in health and development cannot be over-emphasised. nutrition is an essential part of health planning, whether this is at the individual level, domestic sub-national and national planning,|” said Adepeju Adeniran, public health expert and co-founder and national chairperson Women in global health, Nigeria.
She said that protein-centred national nutrition policy is imperative to reduce the level of protein deficiency in the nation and Nutritional policies are often created and implemented as planning tools to ensure population health optimization, or created as a response to a population health need.
“National nutritional policies arise from the need to target measured problems like household food security, Under-5 and child undernutrition and malnutrition, Maternal and child health, infectious disease prevention,”
“These are highlighted indicators that measure the health status of a country, and therefore can judge the health and development status of a country. Importantly, a country’s health index can also be used to predict its economic potential and development projection,” said Adeniran.
She said that population malnutrition and under-nourishment in Nigeria can be demonstrated from the successive national surveys done in both the adult and children population, adding that data extracted from the Nigerian Protein Deficiency survey report also states that about 51 percent of the survey respondents did not have access to protein-rich foods because of the costs.
“Nigeria has assumed the status of a country with the second-highest rate of children with stunted growth for children under-five and about two million children in the country currently suffer from acute malnutrition while the government is only able to reach two out of 10 for treatment.
“Nigerians need a protein-centred national nutrition policy now, more than ever. The difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the protein deficiency issue have brought the urgency of the situation to the fore, said Omadeli Boyo, medical director, Pinecrest Specialist Hospital, Lagos.
