Mr. Omar Conteh the Advocacy Communication officer of RAID-The Gambia, spoke of his organization’s commitment to launch a vigorous campaign against the consumption of Trans Fatty Acid Foods. He called on the Gambian government to formulate a policy framework to protect the population.
Mr. Konteh made this appeal while delivering their findings on The Gambia’s Trans-Fatty Acid Foods landscape. The forum brought together members of the Association of Health Journalists in The Gambia.
He noted that some of the Trans-Fatty Acid Foods landscape findings included a lack of specific policy and regulatory framework. Existing policies such as the Non-Communicable Disease Policy, National Nutrition Policy, and Food Safety Policy do not adequately address Trans-Fatty Acid Foods.
Sally Jarju, The President of the Association of Health Journalists, encouraged his colleagues to take the initiative seriously and report on the issues in their various media houses. He assured RAID-The Gambia that his association is fully supportive of the initiative.
“We are fully supportive because the issue of health is not just about reporting, but we are also a part of it. We are Gambians and we consume what others consume,” Jarju said.
Mr. Momodou Gassama, the Health Education Specialist at the WHO Banjul Office, highlighted the risk factors associated with the consumption of Trans-Fatty Acid Foods, noting that it kills more than 500,000 people yearly globally, which means someone dies every second.
“Trans-fat is produced industrially by partial hydrogenation of any liquid oils, in most cases vegetable oil, but also occurs naturally in meat and dairy products from ruminant animals. For a healthy diet, the recommended intake of Trans-Fatty Acid Foods is less than 1% of the total energy.”
While officially opening the forum, Mr. Sefo Singhateh of the Non-Communicable Disease Control Unit of the Ministry of Health, asserted that TFA is deadly in both developed and developing countries, hence the need for a collaborative effort to curb the effect.
“They are a risk factor for Cardiovascular disease. It is our collective effort to make sure we eliminate Trans-Fatty Acid Foods from the supply market” Singhateh said.
