Nigeria suffers from extreme malnutrition, with the second-highest proportion of under-nourished children in the world. The National Nutrition and Health Survey (2018) estimated that 32% of Nigerian children under the age of 5 are considered stunted. This implies that about 1 in every 3 Nigerian children suffers from chronic malnutrition. In addition, 7% of Nigerian children under the age of 5 suffer from wasting, 19.9% are underweight, and 1.2% are overweight. These levels of malnutrition are driving morbidity and mortality and generating economic losses equivalent to an estimated 11% of GDP, according to UNICEF. Tackling malnutrition in Nigeria is vital.

Yet the country continues to suffer from an alarming array of micronutrient deficiencies that have persisted over decades. The government of Nigeria has implemented micronutrient deficiency control (MNDC) interventions that include public health supplementation, mandatory fortification, point-of-use fortification, biofortification, promotion of dietary diversity, and voluntary fortification as well as ad hoc individual supplement use. 

The proposed dialogue is expected to result in commitments by relevant stakeholders towards raising the Large Scale Food Fortification profile as a highly effective, affordable, game-changing food system intervention with enormous untapped potential to reduce or prevent micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria.  The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) will jointly convene the dialogue with the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), National Fortification Alliance (NFA), and the Civil Society — Scaling Up Nutrition Nigeria (CS-SUNN).