Maelezo ya picha:Iringa Regional Commissioner, Amina Masenza (with
plastic bucket)launching maize fortification program at Ruaha Milling Company
Limited in Iringa yesterday. (Photo by Friday simbaya)
Maelezo ya picha: Group photo
- Iringa Regional Commissioner, Amina Masenza in a group photo with
millers and some of regional nutrion committee members during the launch of
maize fortification in Iringa recently
By Friday Simbaya, Iringa
IRINGA Regional Commissioner Amina Masenza has hailed the maize fortification program in Iringa and said food supplements are one of the most effective ways to improve nutrition and eliminate problems associated with poor nutrition.
She said that experts said that children with improved nutritious care, especially during the first 1,000 days of their lifetime, ie from the mother's pregnancy to a child who is two years; they earn lasting benefits throughout their lives.
Feed the Future Tanzania USAID Nafaka in collaboration with the government of Tanzania has launched maize fortification program in Iringa on Friday last week.
The launch is the result of joint effort among Nafaka Project, the Iringa Nutrition Committee, President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government, Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority, Tanzania Bureau Standards (TBS) and other USAID partners such as Mwanzo Bora.
She said some of those benefits were; positive development of the brain, good ability to deal with illnesses, good intellectual capacity (IQ}, ability to effectively learn and the ability to invest in adulthood.
Masenza said that nutrition investments have also helped raising the GDP by 2 to 3 percent each year.
“In addition, economists tell us that delivery of vitamins and minerals for children under five is a better investment strategy for nutrition. Each US dollar ($ 1) deducted through the strategy will earn US $ 30 later; this is a huge amount of profit in any formulation,” she stated.
She said that the Fifth Phase Government recognizes the importance of investing in nutrients as a single strategy for achieving the Government's goal of achieving the medium- economy and industry by 2025.
During the inauguration, the Regional Commissioner of Iringa, Amina Masenza who was the Guest of Honor called upon all the implementing partners including the millers to work together to ensure the quality of the product is no compromised for the benefit of all consumers in the region.
Malnutrition exists in many countries around the world, but it is worse in developing countries including Tanzania.
The recent figures have identified the decline in national malnutrition rates especially for children less than 5 years of age.
Despite the decline in these rates, it is estimated that there are more than 2.9 million children in the country, 382,500 have slums and 106,000 facing severe malnutrition.
A national study also revealed that more than 50% of children under 5 years of age have high blood deficiency (red blood pressure below 11.0 grams per deciliter).
This national study has noted that the status of women's nutrition is still bad in Tanzania. 3% of women are very short when 10 percent are thin (3 percent are thin or very thin - weight ratio and 17m2 / kg).
Malnourished women are more likely to give birth to less weighty children and thus to infect malnutrition from one generation to another.
The study also noted that at least 45 percent of women in age (15 years old) showed that they had anemia, 30 percent showed that there was anemia, 11 percent showed that blood deficiency was 1 percent they had very high blood pressure.
Earlier on, USAID NAFAKA Director for Business and Finance, Silas Ng'habi said that the program for improving nutrition is implemented in the regions of Iringa, Mbeya and Njombe.
He said that the program is the result of a survey conducted in 2011 and its implementation started in 2013 where it was officially launched by the Retired President of Tanzania, Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.
Ng'habi said the achieved the objectives of this program, NAFAKA developed a process for identifying maize millers in September 2016 where a list of 120 processors in the regions of Morogoro, Dodoma, Iringa Njombe and Mbeya was completed.
He said that NAFAKA identified eight (8) maize processing companies in Iringa and one from Makambako, Njombe with a total of shillings 167,768,059 / = for distributing machine for processors.
Analysis of beneficiaries of the grant plan considered a variety of criteria including the following: 5-10 tons per day, being in the business for not less than three years, being ready to make maize purchases from smallholder farmers in project areas.
Other criterion a miller to meet was the procedure for regulation and processing standards of the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority.
However, Tanzania has introduced a mandatory food fortification programme to tackle the country’s high rates of under nutrition.
The experience from other countries shows that fortification can add vital micronutrients into commonly eaten foods at a low cost.
However, getting food-processing companies to comply with the programme will be a major challenge, and this will be even more difficult in the informal markets used by poor people, who are most vulnerable to undernutrition.
This policy briefing recommends that stakeholders in government and development partners need to implement specific, evidence-based approaches to cover these markets.
As part of their strategy, they should also support other channels beside fortification to reach very poor and rural populations.
End
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