BY NDUMBE BELL GASTON IN DOUALA
The Ministry of Health in partnership with the food giant Nestlé Cameroon called on other stakeholders like civil society, academic experts, and the private sector to find ways to moderate, or eliminate the complex issues related to, malnutrition prevalent in the Cameroonian society.
Malnutrition is said to have serious negative impacts on our human resources and broadly, on the economy by way of reducing productivity and the exorbitant health costs imposed on society. As at now results of studies undertaken proves that one out of three persons suffers from malnutrition caused by unhealthy food habits, and according to the report, if care is not taken the trend will deteriorate to the ratio of one to two.
So, the forum was recently organized in Yaounde according to Nestlé officials who attended, to act as a platform to share knowledge and possibly debate on the direction to take to redress the issue.
Speaking to attendants, the Minister of Health Andre Mama Fouda regretted that “35% of infant mortality for those less than 5, could be avoided simply by applying good feeding habits. So, it is important for stakeholders in the nutrition sector to work in synergy and put strategies in place to arrest the situation. We need a vibrant human capital who will be able to guarantee vibrant and viable economic growth to match our ambitions.”
Nestle officials say they have always backed their principle of improving lives and assure a healthy future. Declared the Administrator-General of Nestle Cameroon Thomas Caso “As outlined by government priorities, we are determined to overcome the challenges of nutrition. We believe that we have positively altered the habits of food intake by producing good foods and beverages enriched with micronutrients and by so doing, equally inspire people across society to adopt to healthy manners towards good life. Based on the complexities inherent in the problems of nutrition, the private sector should not only participate but become part of the solution.”
At the end of the forum, Nestlé’s Maggi pledged to use 100% local ingredients as from 2020, by reduce the salt contents of each maggi cube to 22%, to sensitise a minimum of 70.000 women yearly on the importance of healthy lives, add more advantages to be created for society by reducing the weight of packaging by 13%, and the upgrading of capacities of major users whom they call mammies Maggi. These measures, they add, will reinforce measures taken against malnutrition and are also in line with the objectives of sustainable development of the United Nations