In its effort to tackle malnourishment among African children, BNSL Limited, a Nigerian company that focuses on vitamins, minerals, and nutraceutical production has re-launched its micronutrient product known as “ENRICH”, to help young children have a better growth.
According to BSNL, the re-launch is to bring the world’s attention to the plight of hundreds of millions of malnourished children all over the world, most especially within Africa.
Speaking at a press briefing held at the company’s held office in Ibafo, Ogun State, Managing Director of BNSL, Chioma Odimegwu, said: “Enrich is a micronutrient powder to be sprinkled and mixed with ready-to-eat food. It is a blend of essential vitamins and minerals, with specially encapsulated iron, for easier digestion”.
“ENRICH provides a convenient formulation for supplementing any low nutrient food. Majorly, it is targeted to meet the daily recommended nutrient intake of children above 6 months of age, she said.
She explained that stunted growth among children was usually caused by poverty, poor child feeding practices, lack of proper sanitation, lack of clean water, inadequate maternal nutrition and uninformed practices amongst others.
She added that, ‘’The magnitude of the problem must be met with a response that reflects the scale and gravity of the situation.
Statistics show that 41 per cent of all children under five are chronically malnourished in Nigeria, and 23 per cent are underweight. As a result of malnourishment, one million children in this group die annually.’’
She noted that BNSL Limited looked forward to delivering fortification as an efficient solution to a national challenge, and to drive a meaningful impact.
Odimegwu said the features of the product include free-flowing powder and relatively tasteless, adding that the product did not change the taste, smell or colour of the food.
She however mentioned that the company has successfully delivered over 20million micronutrient powder sachets to various government agencies, private companies and development partners from 2014 to date.
In his response, Director, Tree Crops and Rural Development Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Ogun State, Mr James Oyesola, who represented his commissioner, assured the company of the government’s cooperation and partnership in this direction.
