Eight West African Nations Take Major Step in Vitamin A Fortification for Child Survival

En français

Dakar , Senegal , November 12 th-14 th, 2007 – Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the major cause of child blindness and weakens the immune system, leading to increased mortality rates among children. The eight-nation Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA), Helen Keller International (HKI) and other partners have joined forces to promote mandatory fortification of cooking oil with vitamin A as one strategy to sustainably combat VAD.

In the UEMOA region, which includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, 48% of children less than 5 years are at risk of VAD while control of VAD will save more than 100,000 children’s lives per year.

The UEMOA Commission organized a three-day expert consultation in Dakar, Senegal, with representatives from all eight member countries, to establish regional norms for vitamin A fortification of cooking oil that will be applied to all oil products produced in or imported into the region. The consultation also adopted a regional logo.

The opening ceremony included speeches by the President of the Senegalese Standards Association, the UEMOA Commissioner in charge of Industrial Development, Telecommunications and Energy, the Senegalese Minister of Mines and Industry and HKI’s Regional Director for Africa. Ten new norms and standards for vitamin A fortification of cooking oil were adopted and will be enforced by member nations. A regional logo for branding of all micronutrient fortified food products was adopted that will be displayed on all fortified food products and communicate the benefits of fortified food products to consumers and help produce demand for these products.

This consultation was a major milestone in the “Fortify West Africa” initiative which aims to ensure that at least 70% of the UEMOA population has access to foods fortified with essential vitamins and minerals by the year 2010. The eight member nations have a population of 85 million, of whom 15.6 million are children under the age of 5. This multi-partner initiative is supported by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of Taiwan, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the Micronutrient Initiative (MI). Most importantly, the cooking oil industries, through their professional association AIFO-UEMOA, are taking the lead in producing and marketing vitamin A fortified cooking oil. The strength of this partnership is proof of Helen Keller’s words: “Alone we can do little; together we can do so much”. (For a report in French consult the UEMOA Commission web site: www.uemoa.int/BullInfo/Bull181.pdf - page 3).