The Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, has said that there is no going on the ministry’s commitment to eliminating trans fatty acids in Nigeria’s food supply.
The minister said this on Monday in after his decoration as champion for the Trans Fats Acids (TFA) elimination champion #TransfatFreeNigeria campaign by the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED).
The coalition said that Mamora was honored for his commitment to the elimination of Partially Hydrogenated Oils and also for his commitment to development, public health causes, and social development said that Nigerians do not deserve to die from what they eat whether ignorantly or due to negligence.
“Our people do not deserve to die either due to ignorance or negligence of the government. They deserve our protection and the Federal Ministry of Health under the leadership of Dr Osagie Ehanire is committed to that,” Mamora said.
He said he was happy that the trans-fat issues and the law was not like that of the tobacco that passed through much difficulty, including a signed bill being declared missing.
Mamora said that it is better for people to eat and live and not to eat and die.
He said, “So we need to watch what we eat, as the saying goes, ‘You are what you eat’. I remembered reading a book that when people eat fried foods, it is as if they were frying themselves. Therefore, everyone has to take care of what they eat.”
He also assured that the trans-fat regulation would not be stagnated in the ministry of health and that everything humanly possible would be done to ensure its operationalization.
The coalition described the minister as a known social crusader which dates back to his impressive role in tobacco control and commended his role in getting the regulations moved from NAFDAC to the ministry of health for onward movement to the Ministry of Justice.
Speaking earlier, on the activities of the coalition, Dr Jerome Mafeni, told the minister of the efforts of the group since 2019 and how they consulted widely to ensure the best approach was picked for the campaign.
“We thought that the fastest way to address the dangers posed by the consumption of industrially produced trans-fatty acids, the coalition, decided to engage NAFDAC to review existing regulations they have as allowed by the law.
“It was important to engage everyone and we do that through the use of both traditional and digital media coordinated by our partner, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI),” Mafeni said.
