Maize Fortification Strategy Meeting for Africa
When
03 October 2016 - 07 October 2016
Where
Location: Double Tree Hilton Hotel, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Region: Africa
Contact Information
Anna Verster
Ronald Afidra
Summary
Though maize is the primary cereal consumed in many countries in Africa, less than 30% of the industrially milled maize on the continent is fortified. The map at right indicates the countries with mandatory maize fortification legislation in October 2016.
'Industrial mills' have been defined as those with a capacity of at least 20 metric tons (MT) a day. With maize, this needs to be clarified based on the official status of whether mills are registered with national regulatory bodies. Also, millers which buy grain and package flour in their own bags for resale are clearly different than millers which process maize that people bring to them for milling. The later operations, sometimes called toll mills or fee-for-service mills, were not within the scope of this meeting.
The meeting started with a presentation scoping study of the existing maize production and fortification in Africa. This led to a discussion of opportunities and challenges, and ultimately an Africa Maize Fortification Strategy for 2017-2026.
Meeting participants also visited large and small-scale maize milling facilities, taste-tested porridge that had been made with fortified flour, and saw a demonstration of a test that can be used for internal monitoring of the fortification program.
See the full meeting report as well as the statement from meeting participants.
We appreciate the Manzese/Tandale Maize Millers and Processors Association as well as Basic Elements Co., in Dar es Salaam for making the field trips informative and interesting.
Also, we gratefully acknowledge the support of the World Health Organization in providing nutritional information regarding maize fortification.
The meeting was organized by Smarter Futures, a partnership that includes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, AkzoNobel, the Food Fortification Initiative, Helen Keller International (HKI) and the International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IF). The government of Tanzania graciously served as the host.
Participants
Participants represented National Fortification Alliances, maize millers, Bureaus of Standards and regulatory bodies, regional economic/health bodies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, donors, premix suppliers, and industry partners which provide premix, internal monitoring technology, and equipment for large- and small-scale milling.
Participants were from 14 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. They also provided information about the milling practices and industry structure in their countries.
See the participant list.
See more event photos here.
Presentations
