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Amplify campaign for sodium management in foods, front-of-pack labelling
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED) has amplified its campaign for sodium reduction in food consumption as well as compulsory front-of-pack labelling for all food products to provide proper guidance to consumers.
Dr. Emmanuel Sokpo, Country Director of NHED, at a media engagement jointly organised with the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), the Healthy Food Advocacy Coalition, and other key partners, in Abuja, raised the alarm about the imminent burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, heart disease, and stroke due to excessive salt consumption among Nigerians.
He stated that recent research outcomes indicated that many packaged and processed foods consumed by Nigerians far exceed safe sodium levels, and at the same time, the absence of clear, front-of-pack food labels continues to hinder consumers from making informed dietary choices.
“Our food environment is flooded with invisible risks. Hence, the media must spotlight these issues not just for awareness but to push for solutions that protect the health of Nigerians,” he said.
In a presentation, the Country Coordinator of the GHAI, Joy Amafah, shared how the transition of Nigeria’s dietary lifestyle and habits from traditional diets, known to be healthier, culturally acceptable, and locally sourced, to processed and Ultra-Processed Products (UPPs) with minimal nutritional value and high in nutrients of concern (salt, sugar, trans-fat, etc.), and aggressive marketing and advertisement of the UPPs, have contributed to the growing burden of NCDs in Nigeria and within the African region.
She emphasised the need for policy intervention to address this gap in the food environment, such as nutrition profile modelling, sodium reduction, and more, and the importance of the role of media in creating the needed awareness.
Similarly, Dr. Joseph Ekiyor, a public health practitioner and global health researcher, made a presentation on the NCDs burden in Nigeria, unhealthy food as a primary driver, its rapidly rising incidence and prevalence, and its effects at individual, family, and societal levels, thereby further crippling the dwindling economy and the already overburdened healthcare systems.
In a presentation, Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of CAPPA, urged media practitioners to elevate food policy into the mainstream of public discourse: “Nutrition stories are not just lifestyle features, they are stories of justice, survival, and the right to health. Media must frame them as such.”
Participants co-developed story ideas and identified key angles for follow-up reporting, while NHED pledged to support journalists with access to data, expert interviews, and technical materials on sodium reduction and food labelling.
“This is the beginning of sustained media collaboration. The narrative on food must shift from what sells to what saves lives,” said Oluwatoyin Adeomi, NHED Programme Officer.
