By Olimatou Coker
The National Nutrition Agency, with funding from the World Food Program (SBNG Convener), held its annual convergence on Tuesday, which coincided with the opening of a 3-day capacity-building training for the Sun Business Network Gambia chapter (SBNG) members on the processing of whole grain cereal for diet-related NCD management.
Held at NaNA, the convergence and training are aimed at leveraging the National Nutrition Agency’s role in the marketing of healthier foods that are beneficial in the management of diet-related non-communicable diseases.
Sun Business Network Gambia Chapter is a private sector-led group established by the National Nutrition Agency as a member of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement (SUN). Its main aim is to advocate for and support businesses to grow the role they play in improving nutrition in the country.
Michiko Terada, the World Food Program (WFP) representative to The Gambia, said WFP has been collaborating with NaNA for years.
“I am sure that we could collaborate more with our current partnership with NaNA and the private sector,” he said.
He added that establishing an enabling environment for a healthy country or community is crucial.
The director of finance and administration at NaNA, Lamin Njie, said NaNA’s role is to coordinate all nutrition-related activities, adding that this could not have been possible without the collaboration of their key partners from the UN and the business community.
“Our aim is to combat malnutrition in this country,” he said.
He added that businesses dealing in food commodities have a critical role to play in terms of fighting malnutrition.
The director of the nutrition program at NaNA, Bakary Jallow, said the convergence is aimed at discussing the progress made over the past years and mapping a way forward for the coming years.
