Hidden Salt, Rising Deaths: CAPPA Trains Journalists To Expose Nigeria’s Food Health Crisis
As non-communicable diseases continue to claim thousands of lives in Nigeria, media professionals are being positioned as key players in the fight against unhealthy food consumption and weak regulation.
At a journalism training in Abuja, the Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, Akinbode Oluwafemi, warned that excessive salt hidden in everyday processed foods is fuelling hypertension, diabetes, cancer and other life-threatening conditions across the country.
Speaking at the one-day workshop on Salt Reduction, Nutrient Profile Models and Front-of-Pack Warning Labels, Oluwafemi said Nigerians consume nearly double the salt level recommended by the World Health Organisation, largely through products such as seasoning cubes, noodles, bread and snacks aggressively marketed by food corporations.
He urged journalists to go beyond headlines by exposing industry interference, scrutinising food policies and educating the public on hidden health risks.
According to him, stronger reporting can help drive accountability and support government efforts, including the National Sodium Reduction Guidelines introduced to curb the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in Nigeria.
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