Introduction to Fortification in Africa

Vitamins and minerals are essential components of a healthy diet, ensuring physical and mental growth and vitality, and protecting against disease and premature death. The diets of millions of women, men and children all over Africa lack adequate amounts of these vital components, resulting in slow learning, reduced productivity and deaths from curable diseases.

Food fortification - the addition of minute quantities of vitamins and minerals to food during processing - is an effective and inexpensive way to address the problem.

The fortification of foods with vitamins and minerals has been common practice in industrialized countries for several decades. It is credited with the successful control of deficiencies of vitamins A and D, several B vitamins, iodine and iron in those countries. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, fortification is increasingly recognized as a cost-effective strategy that can help control vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

In Africa, some thirty six countries are routinely fortifying salt with iodine, and several of these, including Benin, Cameroon, Mali, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe have achieved high rates of salt iodization. Over 70% of all new-born babies are now protected from brain damage due to iodine deficiency.

Wheat flour, maize flour, oil and sugar fortification (with iron, folate, B vitamins and/or vitamin A) has already started in countries like Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia. With the exception of South Africa, Nigeria and Zambia, where food fortification of selected foods is mandatory, fortification is done on a voluntary basis by pioneering companies.

Relief and development agencies, notably the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nation's key agency in the fight against hunger, increasingly require that the commodities they procure for distribution be fortified with key vitamins and minerals, according to international and national standards. Among the fortified commodities procured by WFP are maize meal and wheat flour, edible oils, high energy biscuits, and fortified blended foods, such as corn soya blend (CSB) and wheat soya blend (WSB). For more information on opportunities to supply fortified commodities to WFP, go to www.wfp.org