We can combat malnutrition by eating more iron-rich foods – Experts

April 10, 2021

134 22 minutes read

Identify gaps, interventions as stakeholders declare supports

Experts who gathered recently at the formal launch of Nestle Nigeria’s Live Strong With Lion (LSWI) campaign in Abuja expressed optimism that Nigeria can get rid of iron deficiency if the citizens can avail themselves of eating iron-rich local foods to boost their immune systems.

They are worried about the alarming prevalence of Iron Deficiency in Nigeria as contained in the Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) 2018 which showed that 68% of children 6–59 months of age and 58% of women of reproductive age in Nigeria are anaemic, with at least 30% of the anaemias attributable to iron deficiency.

Iron deficiency is a stage in which there is inadequate iron to maintain normal physiological function. It is important to know that iron is the gold of normal human physiology. Without iron, your system cannot function well. Every cell in the body contains iron, it functions to excide your enzyme, it functions to facilitate the function of hormones, there is hardly any physiological functions that iron is not involved in.

The study showed that 73% of children in rural areas are more likely to be anaemic than those in urban areas.

For women in the reproductive age group, 58% of women within age 15 to 49 were found to be anaemic with 28% of them being mildly or moderately anaemic, 2% severely anaemic.

It has been discovered that young girls between 11 and 12 years that started seeing their menstrual circle are already impacted negatively by iron deficiency. Young men are also impacted because of poor diet

Studies also conducted in different regions of the country have also shown differences in the prevalence of iron deficiency ranging from 25% to 45% among pregnant women while 40% to 64% among adolescence and 20% to 71% among children.

According to this survey, the prevalence of severe anaemia was highest in North-West and North-East with 4% each and lowest in the South-West 1% in addition by Zamfara State with the highest prevalence of 10% while Lagos State had the lowest prevalence of less than one per cent.

To this end, the experts, having discovered the many effects of iron deficiency on the growth and cognition development of our children, young girls, pregnant women and its overall negative impact on national development, called for the consumption of locally available iron-rich and iron-fortified foods to kick-out the menace of Iron Deficiency which is the cause of malnutrition in Nigeria.

Some of the iron-rich food which the experts said are readily available within our immediate communities in Nigeria include pumpkin leaves (Ugwu), ewedu, coco-yam leaves, Zobo leaves, Moringa leaves, soya beans, egusi (Mellon), Tatachi, crayfish, beans, palm nuts, carrot, maize, eggs, coconut, sweet potatoes, plantains, oranges, pear, apple, cashew nuts, fish, meat, amongst others

The Corporate Communication and Public Affairs Manager, Nestle Nigeria, Mrs Victoria Uwadoka, who represented the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Wassim Elhusseini, in her opening remarks at the event, said though we have all these local sources of iron-rich foods readily available that many people are not aware of its value and what it gives to the body, adding that Live Strong With Iron campaign is aimed at creating awareness and educating the public and drawing their attention to the inherent benefits in eating our local iron-rich food and iron-fortified foods.

According to her, “We have all these readily available but do the people know that they contain iron. Do they know how to combine it? Do they know how to eat it? Do they know whether their body is absorbing it or not? That’s why we need stakeholders’ action to frame this problem and call for the solution and help our people to make the right nutrition choices. So by this time next year, if we were to conduct a survey, the metric should be so much better and that is what we are looking forward to.”

Ambassador Anthonia Ekpa, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, who represented the Hon Minister for Women Affairs, Paulen Talen, thanked Nestle Nigeria for enlightening the public and bringing to the fore the need for iron in our foods.

While commenting on how our local foods are rich in iron, she said “I happen to come from Calabar and we love food. So when I make a stew with carrot, apple, and ‘tatachi’ that is the stew of the century. We just have to eat our local foods, they are rich in iron. My colleague said, ‘Iron my food’. I think it’s important for us to ‘iron our foods’. But I want to acknowledge this morning that the Ministry of Women Affairs is glad to be part of this and also very grateful to what Nestle has done in Nigeria. When we had a meeting with Nestle team recently, we highlighted the role of some of their products on the breakfast tables of many families and how many children look up to have a meal of Golden Morn, and I happen to be a Golden Morn addict, no day without Golden Morn for me and some groundnut inside of it. Try it and you will see what I’m talking about.

“We are grateful to Nestle and we will continue to partner with them. We have several development partners – Community Service Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working with us and we will try to see how we can form a coalition towards making sure that iron gets into our meals and I think the most important thing is to practicalise it as you have done and probably ensure that the media becomes part of this exercise. I will like to call for more collaboration between our Ministry and the Ministry of health to enlighten the mothers especially the expectant ones to go for cheaper things and we in the Ministry will, going forward, in collaboration with other like-minded organizations and individuals work towards improving the lives of our citizens.

In his goodwill message, the spokesman of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, commended Nestle on what he described as a laudable initiative and called on the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and other relevant agencies to have a buy-in into the campaign to ensure success.

“Globally we are faced with this difficulty that has been posed on us, COVId-19 which also has exposed a lot of gaps within our health sector and as well the health of our people.

“When I received the delegate from this wonderful company Nestle when they visited me, I decided to be one of the voices for this campaign because in bridging the gap, we have to always look for what is sustainable.

“What the Nestle spokesperson explained today, is exactly what she explained when she visited the National Assembly, the sustainable way of keeping our people healthy. I was going through the symptoms and how the affected persons feel when they are suffering from iron deficiency, I saw headaches, I saw hair loss, I saw the weakness of the body, I saw difficulty in concentrating, I saw fatigue.

“You will agree with me that once most people feel the symptoms, they will declare my hair is getting lost because I have cancer or am having headaches because I have high blood pressure, without knowing that it’s just iron deficiency and they say information is power. The impact of this advocacy that is being raised by your company is commendable.

“I want you to take it further and I want the Federal Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to have a buy into this, especially as it concerns the School Feeding Programme. How much iron is in those foods given to those school children? Who is making that effort to make sure that the right nutrients are there?

The wellbeing of every child of different ages who are in school should be of our concern. We will like the Federal Government to look into ensuring that the issue of iron deficiency is taken care of in the school feeding programmes that we are currently doing.

Beyond this, we are glad that the private sector has initiated this move. We want to also raise a call that the ministry of information and the agency in charge of orientation, the National Orientation Agency, to have a buy in to raise the bar when it comes to this advocacy – more our people are educated on the importance of iron to their physical wellbeing, more they will appreciate that it is accessible to them.

As a House, we will always stand with Nigerians…..I can assure you that my office is in charge of Public Affairs and as the spokesperson in the House, I am well positioned to increase the advocacy of this campaign to combat iron deficiency in Nigeria.

In her goodwill message Mrs Karima Babangida, representative of the Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Muhammed Sabo Nanono, appreciated and commended the initiative and investment of Nestle which she said are aimed at improving the indices of nutrition value in Nigeria, noting that the campaign will greatly contribute to the national effort to raise awareness in terms of iron deficiency on individuals and particularly those who do not have access to adequate nutritious foods at all times.

He said the campaign will also provide information on how to reduce the incidence of iron deficiency focusing on children within 1000 days, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and other people that need nutrition attention.

She expressed displeasure on the effect of iron deficiency on the cognitive development of our children. She said as a result of this, the Federal Government under the leadership of the present administration is working assiduously to attain food and nutrition security through the promotion of nutrition-sensitive agriculture aims at reducing malnutrition in its entire ramification including stunting, underweight and wasting children under the age of five to the barest minimum.

“The tendency occasioned by COVID-19 has brought about the social and economic crisis that is rapidly compounding on our food security and nutrition challenges in the country.

“The immediate response, therefore, of the Federal government, is to increase investment in the production of food, investing in iron-fortified crops, livestock and fisheries. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture in its own part is supporting this laudable campaign. Already we have been distributing nutrition packs to vulnerable households in Nigeria through the production of Bio-fortified crops as vegetables with the view to increasing micronutrient dense foods in their households. We are already working with vulnerable persons in the North-East, where we have a lot of iron deficiencies – the packs comprise of ugwu, tomatoes, carrot and pawpaw. And very importantly, vegetable, and carbohydrate-rich foods as well as iron-dense food that you have there is sweet potatoes but what the Ministry is now doing is actually promoting the consumption of orange-flesh food, potatoes which is also bio-fortified.

“The good news is that Nigerians are blessed everywhere with iron-rich foods which are available within our communities. Moringa leaves are very good for pregnant women, very rich in iron which is being used in the North for pregnant women; of course zobo and other products,” she said.

She said the Federal Government will continue to partner with the private sector in supporting campaigns focusing on simple messages on the importance of iron in our diets, consequences of inadequate intake of iron, and other micronutrients, support to vulnerable households for increased access to iron-rich foods, provide information on chief causes of iron deficiency and the need for supplements where necessary just as she advocated that Nigerians should eat what they have and what they plant. I am advocating that instead of planting flowers in your landscapes plant the crops, plant ugwu, and plant pawpaw; plant the oranges etc in those spaces.

Testifying the efficacy of our local iron-rich foods, Dr Megor Ikuenobe, who anchored the event, also shared her experience.

She said when she was pregnant for her fourth child and she couldn’t take an iron supplement and that she had to be deliberate on her diets by taking local foods, adding that ‘zobo’ leaves are rich in iron.

According to her, “I found myself when I was pregnant with my fourth child after the first three when I thought that I was done. One of the things I found was that this time, I couldn’t take those supplements. I tried different types it was not working for me. And I said what else can I do, I went for an experiment with my Doctor and she told me you are a victim of fourth child syndrome. I saw a study that showed that our zobo leaves also contain iron. I was eating all kinds of vegetables and all of that, I tell you, my medical colleagues, in the house, during my second trimester my Packed Cell Volume (PVC) rose to 40% and I was very happy.

Packed Cell Volume (PCV) is a measurement of the proportion of blood that is made up of cells. The value is expressed as a percentage or fraction of cells in the blood. For example, a PCV of 40% means that there are 40 millilitres of cells in 100 millilitres of blood. When we go to the hospital to do a blood test, one of the standard blood tests is to first determine PVC which helps to know how anaemic a patient is and if such patient would require a blood transfusion, what type and how much or just blood supplements.

I never knew that will be possible without iron supplements. It was the first time that I was doing it. Please am not advocating that we should not take our drugs, but if you find yourself in my shoes, this tells you that there is something you can do, it’s readily available, it’s all around you, it really works and it’s cheap.

Dr Binyerem Ukaire, Director and Head of, Nutrition Department, represented the Minister for Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, in her presentation titled “National Perspective on Iron Deficiency” emphasized the need for consumption of iron-rich local foods.

While giving insights into the causes of iron deficiency, she also explained the consequences of the problems, what the government is doing in terms of policy and programmes, interventions and recommendations.

In her word, “We know that most of the health problems such as the iron deficiency are due to ignorance as it has been showcased today. People are not aware that many of these natural sources – be it animal or plant have health benefits and these foods are within the reach of the common Nigerians.

She said the Federal Government’s goal on nutrition “is to ensure that all Nigerians across all life circles have optimal nutritional status including children, women, adolescence, and the elderly.

On iron deficiency, she said the goal focuses particularly on children, women and adolescence for obvious reasons.

According to her, “Nigerian is blessed with enough natural sources of iron that can take care of her population if the people are properly educated on nutrition contents and benefits from those plants and animals available within our communities.

“Adequate nutrition is very key. When we say adequate nutrition that is what will make all Nigerians be well-nourished because we believe that adequate nutrition is the bedrock for good health, for achieving all the sustainable global development goals. Adequate nutrition is the bedrock for physical growth and development, in the child and even later on for productivity and also for economic growth. When we talk about adequate nutrition, we are talking about the quantity, the quality of what is being consumed with respect to micronutrients – your fat, your carbohydrate etc.

“Micronutrients are those ones that are not seen and that is where iron belongs to – Iodine and vitamin A, Folic Acid etc are always given as supplements. When one is deficient and is not known, it is called hidden hunger. Sometimes it’s not obvious to everyone but they are there silently causing harm,” she explained.

Dr Ukaire stated that malnutrition usually presents itself either as undernutrition in the form of wasting or stunting.

She explained that a wasted child’s weight is always too low compared to his/her height while in stunting; the height of a stunted child is always too small compared to the age.

On obesity, she expressed surprise that some people do not know that overweight and obesity are also forms of malnutrition on the other side of the scale.

She hinted that malnutrition is the underlying cause of approximately 50% of the under-five mortality globally.

“We are gathered here today because iron is very crucial. When you say haemoglobin you refer to iron. Iron is very vital for the synthesis of haemoglobin in the red blood cell and we all know that blood is life.

“World Health Organisation (WHO) says over 80% of people lack iron just like it has been said already. Quite a number of us lack iron and we may not even know it. Also, there are many composes of anaemia in a child, but at least about 30% of anaemia is attributable to iron deficiency, Dr Ukaire said.

Speaking further she said, “The problem of iron deficiency anaemia cuts across all the six geo-political zones. Yes higher in some zones than others but entire Nigeria is affected and these are women in their reproductive age.”

On predisposing factors, she said over 50% of causes of iron deficiency is due to ignorant and lack of awareness, which according to her “is why this campaign is quite strategic and very important.”

She listed the predisposing factors to include poverty and low social-economic status, inadequate intake of iron-rich foods, poor health behaviour amongst our people due to multiple reasons, lack of women empowerment, where women relied on the income of their husbands as well as many misconceptions, myths and our culture.

She said these are some reasons that hinder women from taking up the right interventions and eating what they should eat as advised by physicians. For instance, the pregnant woman is going through a period in her life where the baby is being developed, she needs a lot of iron.

‘We talk about adolescence, women generally have their monthly loss, so if you are losing and you are not replenishing it could lead to iron deficiency.

“I am an obstetrician by training. Most times you find a situation where our women, particularly those who are not educated and who are low in socio-economic status; keep having children without given themselves adequate time to recover. You know after delivering you lose a lot of blood, you need to replenish, recuperate, and as you are breastfeeding, iron is also going into the breast milk for the baby. So you need enough time to rebuild yourself and some of them don’t even take the Iron Folic Acid Supplement (IFAS) given during pregnancy and other interventions and that worsen their predicament, she added.

Other predisposing factors according to her include low patronage of Antenatal Care, low intake of iron and folic acid, low rate of hospital deliveries, worm infestation, and stock out of iron supplements in our hospitals noting that the national health nutrition survey 2018 says only 40.4% of our children received deworming drugs, even as she pointed out that there is low coverage and a lot still has to be done.

One of the consequences of iron deficiency according to Dr Ukaire is low birth weight babies, adding that in some instances some babies born with infection and complications leading to higher mortality.

She said the effort is being made by the government of Nigeria to ensure enabling environment through strategic direction, policy guidelines particular the policy on public, private partnership, which will lead to more collaboration between government and private sectors.

“…Nigerian has received a lot of counterpart funding to address the issue of malnutrition and several other projects that we have been undertaking. And this multi-sectoral collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is very critical because if we get it right at that level then we don’t even have to start having the manifestation of malaria in the first place and that goes to promote that we should eat the natural foods.

I have tested and I have seen that pumpkin leaves are rich not just theoretically in folic acid, Vitamin C and Iron. I have been anaemic after my last child and I started taking it within the period of one week my PCV went up. We are not saying you should not take the iron supplement but we are saying that the natural sources are also very efficient.

Government interventions, according to her, include free iron and folic acid in pregnancy and post-pregnancy; multiple micro-nutrients supplementation in pregnancy; breastfeeding and nutrition counselling, complementary feeding, distribution of free iron-fortified food items to women and children, a school-based feeding programme for distributing iron to adolescence (pilot phase right now), deworming of pregnant women when diagnosed and also children through routine services.

For the child, we do the growth monitoring promotion to determine supplement, prophylaxes supplementation, micro-nutrient balance that is also rich in iron, the deworming, the treatment of the severe condition of malnutrition and the homegrown school feeding programmes and for the general public, food fortification, food supplementation, dietary diversification, home fortification and bio-fortification.

While identifying poor awareness as the gap that needs to be bridged, she commended Nestle on the choice of their intervention which she said “is good and there is something that we are ready to collaborate with you going forward,” noting that the multi-sectoral approach on nutrition programming must be strengthened.

She recommended a mass awareness campaign and consistent and deliberate media broadcast on the impact of iron deficiency focusing on the solutions – What can we do to prevent it? How can we manage it?

“We need to scale all these interventions that have been put in place and we need to bring our men on board because when a man is well enlightened on these issues, they will encourage their women and also women’s position is also critical. If they don’t know the right quantity and what is right to be taken then what is the hope of the children and even the man who she feeds.

“Leveraging the food system, adequate regulation and monitoring micro-nutrients interventions, and advocacy, improve coordination to build synergy on micro-nutrients deficiency programme is key,” she said.

Dr Ukaire said to achieve adequate micro-nutrients sufficiency in Nigeria there is a need for partnership, saying the partnership is the key and the way to go calling on every hand to be on deck to kick malnutrition out of the country.

The National President, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Wao Afolabi who was represented at the event by Mr Sam Yuwa, in his presentation titled “Is There a Case for Increased Awareness and Education of Iron Deficiency?”

He started the presentation by sharing a story which was told by the immediate past Emir of Kano, Prof Lamidu Sanusi, who is the Chairman of, Nutrition Society of Nigeria. He looked at the issue of malnutrition in Kano.

According to him, Kano is a place where beans are produced. The people in rural Kano after harvesting their beans brought it to the clusters and after selling the beans bought bread and coke and eat. This tells the story of awareness concerning iron-rich foods.

“When I was told of the topic which is in the form of research question: “Is there a case for increased awareness and education of iron deficiency?” I said with the evidence you have already been churning out, the question is already answered. There is a case for increased awareness on nutrition concerning iron deficiency,” he affirmed.

On the global stage she explained how nutrition has been recognized as a critical public issue because of its detrimental effect on health, the growth and development of individual and the nation, and how nutrition represents insufficiencies, excessive or the balanced intake of energy and nutrients, and how micronutrient is related with nutrition which is also known as hidden hunger.

“Hidden hunger/micronutrient deficiency is the form of undernutrition that occurs as a result of lack of or insufficient intake of, and absorption of vitamins and minerals by the individual to sustain good health and development. These include but not limited to iron deficiency anaemia, iron deficiency disorder, Vitamin A deficiency, Vitamin D deficiency, and Zinc deficiency. These are the ones for critical priority in Nigeria.

“Micronutrient deficiency cuts across age groups, but there are emphases on children especially adolescent girls and women of reproductive age. Iron deficiency is a stage in which there is inadequate iron to maintain normal physiological function. It is important to know that iron is the gold of normal human physiology. Without iron, your system can function well. Every cell in the body contains iron, it functions to excide your enzyme (An enzyme is a substance that acts as a catalyst in living organisms, regulating the rate at which chemical reactions proceed without itself being altered in the process. The biological processes that occur within all living organisms are chemical reactions, and most are regulated by the enzyme). It functions to facilitate the function of hormones (Hormones are your body’s chemical messengers. They travel in your bloodstream to tissues or organs to help them do their work. Hormones are vital to your health and well-being). There is hardly any physiological functions that iron is not involved in, he said.

Iron deficiency, he stated, is the most prevalent nutrition problem in the world today which accounts for 75 % of all types of anaemia.

He said the major causes of iron deficiency anaemia in women include inadequate dietary intake of iron-rich food sources during pregnancy, loss of blood during childbirth, low level of educational level, occupation, and socioeconomic status, adding that in a developing country like Nigeria, the situation is not in any way deferent, the 2018 NDH survey showed that 73% of children in rural areas are more likely to be anaemic than those in urban areas.

“For women in the reproductive age group, 68% of women within age 15 to 49 were found to be anaemic with 28% of them being mildly or moderately anaemic, 2% severely anaemic. Studies also conducted in different regions of the country have also shown differences in the prevalence of iron deficiency ranging from 25% to 45% among pregnant women, 40% to 64% among adolescence and 20% to 71% among children.

Meanwhile, the reduction of micronutrient deficiency is considered one of the most essential cost-effective ways of reducing the prevalence of malnutrition among the population.

Talking about the factors, some factors are co-related. If your diet is inadequate, there is a tendency that you will suffer from malnutrition. If you have inadequate diets, it is all-inclusive of micronutrient including iron. Unless you have specific underlying issues it will be difficult for you to suffer from iron deficiency.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for increased awareness and education of iron deficiency in order to prevent further increase of its prevalence and its negative impact on the growth and development of individuals and the nation.

In her presentation titled “Reducing Iron Deficiency in Kaduna State: Strategies and Development,” Dr Hajara Nilma Kera, Director, Public Health, Kaduna State Ministry of Health. said the issue of combating iron deficiency in Nigeria needs the collective approach, noting that having nutrition deficiency has long-lasting consequences on the development of any society.

She spoke on the effect of the problem in Kaduna State, various interventions and what the state government is doing to tackle it just as she called on all stakeholders to join hands together to fight the menace to reduce it if not completely eradicated to 50% which is the global target.

Taking data from the 2018 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), she said in North-West, of more than 40% of children aged 3-6 months, only 8 had iron-rich food a day before the survey while 72% of children between 6-9 months had iron supplement before the survey.

She added that only 21% of women took iron supplement tablet within 20 days during their last pregnancy while only 30% of women do attend Antenatal Clinic.

On Prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age in Kaduna State, she said “about 44% which is lower than North-West average of 58.3%; stunting babies in the North-West is 60% higher than Kaduna’s 50%; the average for wasting babies in North-West is 10% while we have 5.2% in Kaduna.”

On what the government is doing to curb the menace she said, “What we have been doing in Kaduna State to address iron deficiency anaemia include providing policy direction, policy on Food and Nutrition as a general intervention, for which we developed a framework for institutionalization and implementation of this policy. So right now we have a five-year Kaduna State multi-sectoral strategic plan of action on Food and Nutrition by the Executive Council and we have done implementation and so, of course, all issues regarding micronutrient deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia and nutrition is being tackled as a whole in Kaduna. We are planning to develop a road map for reduction of iron anaemia deficiency in children, young adolescence and women in Kaduna State,” she stated.

Furthermore, she said, “Anaemia is still high prevalence in our society, therefore all existing mechanism for its correction need to be strengthened, effective and adequate utilization of antenatal and other interventions cannot be over-emphasised. We recognize that despite the political will, financial commitment, policy direction, iron deficiency anaemia and malnutrition generally remains public health issues affecting our women and children and we still have much to do to be able to reach the global target of 50% reduction.”

Speaking from the South-West, Ogun State to be specific, Dr Ogunsola Ayowole Elijah, Executive Secretary of Ogun State Primary Health Care Board, on the topic, “Perspective On Iron Deficiency Anaemia in Ogun State,” he expressed concern on the alarming effect of the menace on the children, young adult and women within the region.

In Nigeria, to curb the menace, there is a need for people to eat more of our local food which had been identified to be very nutritious such as seafood, iron-fortified foods, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds.

Therefore, there need for Nigerians to be educated on the value and benefit of eating our own local foods.

In Ogun State, we look at the NDSH of 2018, 59.5% of our children from 6-59 months are anaemic. This gives us a lot of concern and there need for intervention.

On our women of reproductive age, we discovered that 49% of them are anaemic. Of the 49%, 28% are moderately anaemic while 1.3% are severally anaemic.

On pregnant women compliance to taking an iron supplement, between 60 – 90 days of their pregnancy, it is discovered that 10.7% said they are not taking anything, 5.5% of the women attending antenatal takes the iron supplementation for less than 60 days, 17.5% takes the iron supplementation between 50-90 days while 64.4% takes the iron supplementation over 90 days.

As a state, our intervention is to address anaemia targeted at our pregnant women and to administer for preventive purposes. So as a state, we are proactive, we don’t want our women to become a victim of anaemia so we make sure they are given supplementation. We also encourage them to take eat iron-rich local foods which readily available even in our backyards.

In her contribution, Nestlé’s Nutrition and Wellness Manager, Central/West Africa Region, Ms Akua Kwakwa, gave insights on what Nestle is doing in terms of micronutrient fortification.

“We are to be recognized in enhancing the quality of life and contributing to a healthier future in Central and West Africa region by providing accessible and affordable nutrition to our food and also to our communication.

“Overweight or obesity is caused by too much of consumption of starchy foods at the expense of nutritious foods. This is why we are creating awareness to encourage people to eat more nutritious foods. This we must start by ourselves by making the change we want to see by ourselves. When we start making the changes, the impact will be seen as we will have a better life for ourselves and our community.

According to Mr Sam Yuwa, When we talk about the effect of iron deficiency on national development, if people are not healthy, if our children cannot grow to become strong and able-bodied citizens to make their own contributions whether intellectual or physical if our women are not strong enough because they don’t have enough iron, the outcome of pregnancy in these women cannot be good and this will lead to recording high infant and maternal mortality.

Generally, when a nation is healthy and strong, national development will not have a problem. As the population of this country is growing rapidly and if we don’t have those who are strong enough both intellectually and physically to contribute to this development, if we don’t have strong and able-bodied men and women to make their contributions, it will be difficult for us to have a nation that advances to meet up with the current challenges of the 21^st century, he said.