Tanzania's president receives a global award for food fortification

From the newsletter

Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu has been awarded the Global Goalkeepers Award for Food Fortification, making her the first African leader to receive this honour. Food fortification involves adding vitamins and minerals to food to enhance its nutritional value, providing a solution to counteract declines in food micronutrients caused by climate change.

• The Tanzanian government has enacted a national fortification mandate that requires all food millers to add essential minerals to their products.

• Tanzania, along with Nigeria and Ethiopia, is one of the leading investors in food fortification efforts aimed at preventing and treating acute malnutrition, which remains a significant challenge in Africa.

More details

• The annual Global Goalkeeper Award, presented by the Gates Foundation, celebrates leadership and commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This award recognises impactful actions that drive progress both nationally and globally. In her presentation of the award, Dr. Anita Zaidi, president of the Gender Equality Division at the Gates Foundation, highlighted the importance of investing in women and children, stating that such investments promote healthy families, resilient communities, and a growing economy. 

• Tanzania has made great strides in healthcare, driven by strategic investments and innovative programmes that have greatly improved maternal and child survival rates over the past two decades. According to the country’s most recent Demographic and Health Survey, there has been an 80% reduction in the maternal mortality ratio and a one-third reduction in the under-five mortality rate in the last decade.

• One of the key programmes contributing to increased child survival is food fortification, which targets stunting, malnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies. This initiative has laid the foundation for better health outcomes for women and children throughout the country. The rate of wasting among children under five has decreased from 4.5% in 2015 to 3% in 2022, while stunting rates have fallen from 42% to 30%, and underweight cases have declined from 16% to 12% during the same period.

• In Tanzania, the national fortification of salt with iodine began in the 1990s, and since 2011, the fortification of wheat and maize flour with multiple micronutrients and oil with vitamin A has been mandated by law. The National Fortification Mandate requires all commercially produced wheat and maize flour, as well as vegetable oil, to be fortified with essential micronutrients such as iron, vitamin A, and zinc, making fortification compulsory for major food processors and millers in the country.

• According to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the implementing arm of the African Union, nearly 48% of Africa’s population relies on cereals and root staples that lack vital micronutrients. Millions are either unable to access or cannot afford foods rich in micronutrients, such as vegetables, fruits, and animal products.

• The 2024 Goalkeepers annual report, titled Race to Nourish a Warming World, highlights large-scale food fortification as a longstanding yet highly effective strategy for addressing micronutrient deficiencies in low-income countries. The report underscores the significant impact of micronutrient deficiencies on health. For instance, vitamin A deficiencies are the primary cause of childhood blindness, while folate deficiencies lead to neural tube defects.

• Currently, Nigeria and Ethiopia are investing in food fortification to combat and treat acute malnutrition. Ethiopia is working to incorporate another essential nutrient, folic acid, into iodized salt. They are exploring methods to produce this “double-fortified” salt at a cost nearly equivalent to that of iodized salt, without requiring the construction of new factories. This approach has the potential to significantly reduce poor birth outcomes, including nearly eradicating three-quarters of all deaths and stillbirths resulting from neural tube defects, approximately 5,000 per year in Ethiopia while also decreasing anaemia rates by up to 4% nationwide.

• In Nigeria, the nutrition department within the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is leading a large-scale initiative for the first guided voluntary fortification of bouillon cubes, which are a staple in local cuisine. It is estimated that fortified bouillon cubes could reduce deaths and stillbirths from neural tube defects by half, up to 11,000 each year and prevent as many as 16.6 million cases of anaemia annually in Nigeria.

Our take

• Strong political leadership in Africa can effectively drive progress in food fortification while also regulating prices. Tanzania's enforcement of fortification mandates serves as a model for other African nations, demonstrating how government action can effectively address malnutrition among vulnerable populations.

• With nearly 48% of Africa’s population relying on nutrient-poor staples, it is crucial for governments to prioritise fortification as a means to combat malnutrition. Implementing effective fortification strategies can lead to significant improvements in public health and a reduction in long-term healthcare costs.

• Collaborating with the private sector helps ensure the affordability of fortified products, benefiting low-income populations without causing significant increases in food prices.