From Atiku Sarki, Abuja
As part of efforts to create greater public awareness and strengthen Nigeria’s healthy food policy environment, the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED) recently convened a media roundtable in Abuja.
The event was held in collaboration with the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), the Healthy Food Advocacy Coalition, and other key partners.
With the theme “Empowering Media to Advance Sodium Reduction and Front-of-Pack Labelling for a Healthier Nigeria,” the one-day forum, hosted at Wetland Hotel in Wuye, brought together over 25 journalists, along with nutrition experts, legal advocates, and public health stakeholders.
The goal was to explore how storytelling and public interest journalism could accelerate food system reforms and drive the adoption of sodium reduction strategies and food labelling policies.
NHED Country Director, Dr. Emmanuel Sokpo, in his opening remarks, stated: “Our food environment is flooded with invisible risks. Media must spotlight these issues—not just for awareness, but to push for solutions that protect the health of Nigerians.” The roundtable focused on Nigeria’s pending sodium reduction regulation recently posted by NAFDAC for public consultation, the rationale behind front-of-pack warning labels (FOPWL), and the critical role of civil society and media in advocating for healthier food environments.
Participants were equipped with practical strategies for impactful reporting on nutrition, consumer rights, and corporate accountability in the food sector.
The Country Coordinator of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Joy Amafah, emphasized how the dietary shift from traditional Nigerian meals to ultra-processed products (UPPs)—often high in salt, sugar, and trans fats—has increased the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across the country.
She identified aggressive advertising and lack of regulation as key drivers of this transition, and stressed the need for policy tools such as Nutrition Profile Modelling (NPM), FOPWL, and sodium reduction guidelines.
“The media plays a vital role in shaping the public discourse on food choices and pushing for the right policy interventions,” she added.
Also speaking at the forum, Dr. Joseph Ekiyor, a public health practitioner and global health researcher, noted the steep rise in NCDs in Nigeria, driven largely by unhealthy food consumption.
He warned of its growing impact at the individual, household, and national levels, including increased health costs and a worsening strain on the already overburdened healthcare system. “We must take immediate action to halt this crisis,” he said.
Echoing these sentiments, Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of CAPPA, called on journalists to treat nutrition reporting as a matter of public justice. “Nutrition stories are not just lifestyle features—they are stories of justice, survival, and the right to health. Media must frame them as such,” he said.
During the interactive sessions, participants co-developed story ideas and identified media angles for follow-up reporting. NHED pledged to support journalists with data access, expert interviews, and technical resources to enhance their coverage.
“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 Program Officer.
The roundtable also served as a prelude to NHED’s upcoming Twitter/X Space session scheduled for June 28, themed “Salt, Labels & Public Health: Addressing Nigeria’s Food Environment,” which will further expand public dialogue on nutrition and regulatory reform.
