Validation Worshop: 2021 Rapid Food Consumption Survey

Today, The Gambia through the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) and other implementing partners of the EU Funded Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Project called ‘‘Improving Food Security and Nutrition in The Gambia through Food Fortification’’ validates its first Rapid Food Consumption Survey Report. The opening ceremony was chaired by Mr. Modou Cheyassin Faal, former Executive Director of NaNA who also doubles as a Principal Investigator for the Survey. The Executive Director of NaNA, Dr. Amat Bah, and the FAO Representative delivered the Opening Statements. The objective of the survey was to rapidly measure the frequency of consumption and average intake levels of selected food vehicles such as wheat flour, rice, vegetable oil, bouillon cubes, bio-fortified maize, cassava, iron-rich cowpeas, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, bio-fortified pearl millet, fruits, and vegetables among rural and urban consumers, especially children aged 6-59months and women aged 15-49 years old in The Gambia. The survey findings revealed that the percentage of the population consuming bio-fortified foods was low and over 90 percent of respondents consumed rice and bouillon cubes, thus, serves a potential food fortification vehicle. The consumption of Bread was also low at 56% of the target population.

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