The food fortification programme in Togo is being revitalised

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Extract from the article: A workshop bringing together members of Togo's National Food Fortification Committee (CNFA) was held in Kpalimé from 7 to 9 November 2023. It was organised by the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene through the Nutrition Division in collaboration

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A workshop bringing together members of Togo's National Food Fortification Committee (CNFA) was held in Kpalimé from 7 to 9 November 2023.  It was organised by the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene through the Nutrition Division in collaboration with the international NGO Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The workshop is part of the Large-Scale Food Fortification project supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The objectives of the meeting included helping to revitalise the National Committee for Food Fortification in Togo, encouraging exchanges between the various players (public and private sectors) involved in fortification in Togo, drawing up a roadmap for improving the food fortification programme in Togo, and defining strategies for strengthening the coordination and sustainable operation of the CNFA. The National Coordinator of the CNFA and Head of the Nutrition Division of the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene, Dr Bouraima Mouawiyatou, launched and chaired the proceedings on behalf of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health. The opening ceremony was also attended by Moussa B.Sangare, Coordinator of the STARS project with the NGO CRS Togo.

Togo's Comité National pour la Fortification des Aliments (CNFA) was set up in 2009 to coordinate food fortification activities for large-scale consumption by the Togolese population. But « since 2018, the CNFA has experienced a slump in its meetings and operations.So this meeting is also about listing the CNFA's successes, highlighting its weaknesses and the challenges that remain in order to define the solutions adopted to make the food fortification strategy an important strategy in the whole system for combating micronutrient deficiencies in Togo », said Dr Bouraima, Coordinator of the CNFA.

According to Elizabeth Ouedraogo, Regional Programme Officer for the CRS Large-Scale Food Fortification Project, the situation in the West African sub-region is much the same as in Togo: « The first part of this project, developed with other partners, was a success. But there has been a decline in all the countries in the region.Today, almost 50% of pregnant and breast-feeding women suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, particularly iron, and around a quarter of children under the age of 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition. Despite these efforts, the situation remains worrying. So phase 2 of this programme aims to build on what has already been achieved to move the strategy forward », she said.

WAHO, in collaboration with CRS and its partners, organised a regional public-private consultative workshop from 26 to 28 June 2023 in Côte d'Ivoire on large-scale food fortification. This was followed by a presentation of the results of a situational analysis of food fortification initiatives, including the functioning of existing national alliances in this area. One of the findings of this study is that national fortification alliances are not sustainable. At this regional workshop, each country defined five main areas for action to boost national fortification alliances. These actions could be supported by WAHO.

The national workshop in Kpalimé

Following presentations by the various CNFA players on their activities, and the presentation of regulatory texts, work was carried out in working groups. Four groups were formed, each working on a specific theme. After analysing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the communication and social marketing aspects of fortified products and the Enriched, partnership, laboratory and industry logos, the participants proposed an operational action plan.

The work of each group was submitted to the plenary session for amendments and improvements. « I congratulate the four groups on their excellent work.Following this meeting, we now have a clear roadmap for relaunching the work of the CNFA », exclaimed the Coordinator of the CNFA Togo, Dr. Bouraima.

For the organising structure, « this workshop enabled us to take stock of the activities of each CNFA player, at the control, industry, coordination, monitoring and even communication and social marketing levels, to share the challenges and adopt a roadmap on the basis of which concrete initiatives will be implemented to advance the food fortification strategy in Togo », said Elisabeth Ouedraogo.  

In 2012, the Togolese Head of State signed a decree on the fortification of refined oils and wheat flour with micronutrients. Two mass-market products were selected, namely NIOTO oil, fortified with vitamin A, and SGMT wheat flour, fortified with iron, vitamin B and zinc.But according to the Coordinator of the CNFA Togo, all refined oil and wheat flour produced or imported into Togo must be fortified, according to the regulations.But the current situation is not exactly that. Unfortunately, markets are flooded with unenriched oils and wheat flour.This is undermining the strategy to combat micronutrient deficiencies, especially among vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children under 5.The Kpalimé workshop thus laid the foundations for a renaissance of the CNFA, where all the players agreed to work in synergy to achieve impact results. 

Gamé KOKO