By Rudo Shoko

GOVERNMENT remains committed to the fight against micro-nutrient deficiencies in the country through implementation of the Food Fortification Strategy which makes it mandatory for all companies to fortify their foods, Ministry of Health and Child Care deputy director, Annscaria Chigumira has said.
The targeted foods include sugar, cooking oil, maize meal and wheat meal. This is not the first time that Government has made the food fortification call.
In 1994, a call for the mandatory iodisation of salt with a view to eradicating iodine deficiencies such as goitre was made.
Chigumira said food fortification is progressing well.
“The fortification of salt bears evidence that food fortification is effective. We no longer have problems of goitre in Zimbabwe since we introduced iodised salt and it is within the same framework that we want to curb other diseases associated with macro-nutrient deficiencies,” said Chigumira.
The call comes at a time the agriculture industry has also developed high nutrient crop varieties otherwise referred to as bio-fortified crops that include maize (Vitamin A) and beans (zinc and iron).
In a statement, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said they would soon embark on an awareness campaign to promote the initiative.
“As we approach the first of July, the date for the mandatory fortification for selected items, we will, with various stakeholders and partners conduct nationwide public education and awareness road shows, tv and radio programmes,” reads the statement in part.
“The aim of this national campaign is to create awareness among the people on this national programme and people will have an opportunity to ask questions and get answers.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care has developed the Food Fortification Regulations Statutory Instrument 120 of 2016 in conjunction with other institutions.
“These include United Nations (UN) Agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe and Industry producing food targeted for fortification. The regulation comes into play to support implementation of the Zimbabwe National Food Fortification Strategy.”
The strategy was developed to address the micro-nutrient deficiency burden in the country as revealed by the 2012 Micronutrient Deficiency Survey.
Micro-nutrient deficiency is prevalent in women and children under five years especially in rural arears, with 4,1 million people estimated to be food insecure, especially after the El-Nino-induced drought.
Under-nutrient rates are high in rural districts where diet lacks diversity — maize being the main staple.
According to the survey, 19 percent of children aged 6-59 months are Vitamin A deficient, while 72 percent have iron deficiency and 31 percent are anaemic and nearly 1,5 million working age adults with anaemia suffer deficits in working performances.
A google search describes Food Fortification as ‘a process of adding minute levels of vitamin and minerals to foods during processing’.
It entails addition of one or more micro-nutrients during processing, regardless of whether the micro-nutrient is available or not in the said food to increase micro-nutrient intake in a population.
Sugar will be fortified with Vitamin A; cooking oil with Vitamin A and D; and wheat flour and maize meal with Vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, folic acid, iron and zinc.
Food fortification is one of many ways to control and prevent micro-nutrient deficiency diseases such as goitre, anaemia, impaired vision and mental retardation.
According to the World Health Organisation, over two billion people worldwide suffer from a variety of micro-nutrient deficiencies.
It said approximately one in three people were at risk of either Vitamin A or iron deficiency.
A health expert told Patriot Health that food fortification did not disrupt normal food consumption patterns.
“Food fortification has the dual advantage of being able to deliver nutrients to large segments of the population without requiring radical changes in food consumption patterns” said the expert.
“Fortified foods are those that have nutrients added to them that do not naturally occur in the food.”
UNICEF Zimbabwe will also be supporting the country technically and financially to improve the micro-nutrient situation.
The high impact evidence-based interventions supported by UNICEF include micro-nutrient supplementation for women and children, deworming for children, and micro-nutrient powders in emergency food packs.