Following three years of leadership engagement by the federal government and CEOs of the nation’s largest food processing companies, significant progress has been made fortifying Nigerian staple foods with micronutrients that are essential to achieving better health and nutrition for all.

Speaking with journalists after the 3rd annual Nigerian food processing and leadership forum, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who chaired the forum, said the private sector remains the engine of growth for the Nigerian economy.

Aliko Dangote, chairman of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, said, “By creating a common set of compliance standards, while also giving companies the tools they need to effectively fortify their foods, we are creating a sustainable path to delivering to Nigerians food that will help them live healthier, more productive lives. Better nutrition for our consumers means better health and economic development for our nation.” Dangote added that edible oils fortified with vitamin A also made progress, but to a lesser degree, with the population reached with fortified cooking oil increasing from 25 percent to 32 percent.

“Unlike the other staples, however, the edible oil companies participating in the forum represent closer to 40 percent of the nation’s total production volume. To put the scale of these achievements in perspective, an additional 125.7 million Nigerians now have access to sugar fortified with vitamin A; an additional 73.5 million have access to wheat flour fortified with iron and folic acid; and an additional 13.8 million have access to cooking oil fortified with vitamin A.” Vanguard