Why the future of Africa’s food systems will depend not only on producing more food, but on ensuring that every meal delivers the nutrients people need to live healthier and more productive lives.
Margaret Mary Tohouenou, a nutritionist at Nestlé’s Research and Development Centre in Abidjan, believes the fight against malnutrition starts with correcting one of the biggest misconceptions about food.
“Nutrition is not just about eating until you are full. It is about nourishing the body,” she said, stressing that the quality of food matters just as much as the quantity.
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Echoing this view, Victoria Uwadoka, head of corporate communications and public affairs at Nestlé Nigeria, said proper nutrition goes beyond satisfying hunger. According to her, food must provide the essential vitamins and minerals the body needs to grow, develop and stay healthy.
“The important thing about food is that it must contain the right vitamins and minerals to build the body. That is why Nestlé fortifies many of the foods we produce. Today, more than 80 percent of our food portfolio is fortified with iron because we recognise that iron deficiency remains one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies across many African countries,” she said.
Uwadoka noted that the greatest danger is that people are often unaware of the nutritional gaps in their daily diets, stating, “Sometimes we consume different foods without realising that the micronutrients we obtain from them are simply not enough to meet our daily nutritional requirements.”
That distinction has become increasingly important across Sub-Saharan Africa, where millions of people consume enough food to satisfy hunger but still fail to obtain the vitamins and minerals required for healthy growth, cognitive development and disease prevention.
That silent deficiency is exactly what Tohouenou, describes as hidden hunger. “You may see someone whose stomach is full, but whose body is lacking the nutrients it needs to function properly,” she said.
She explained Iron deficiency, can lead to anaemia, fatigue and reduced concentration. Zinc weakens immunity and slows children’s growth. Vitamin A deficiency increases the risk of blindness and infections, while inadequate iodine affects brain development and thyroid function.
“These are micronutrients. The body requires only small amounts of them, but it cannot function properly without them,” Tohouenou said.
Across West and Central Africa, deficiencies in iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin A and several other essential micronutrients remain widespread despite improvements in food production.
The challenge is compounded by economic realities.
“When families have limited income, they naturally prioritise foods that satisfy hunger. Staples such as rice, maize, cassava and yam often come first, while fruits, vegetables, dairy products and animal proteins, which provide many essential micronutrients, become less affordable,” Tohouenou explained.
Nutrition scientists are increasingly exploring ways to improve the nutritional quality of foods that people already consume every day, rather than expecting households to dramatically change their eating habits,
That strategy, known as food fortification, has become one of the most widely adopted public health interventions globally.
The World Health Organization describes food fortification as the addition of essential vitamins and minerals to commonly consumed foods to reduce micronutrient deficiencies across entire populations.
Across Africa, governments have already made the fortification of products such as salt, vegetable oil and wheat flour mandatory. Food manufacturers are now complementing those efforts by reformulating widely consumed products to deliver additional nutritional benefits.
At Nestlé’s Research and Development Centre in Abidjan, scientists are working to ensure that fortified foods remain affordable, culturally acceptable and suitable for local diets.
According to Estelle Flora Coulibaly, product development manager for Nestlé’s Central and West Africa Region, innovation begins long before a product reaches supermarket shelves.
“Our responsibility is to develop products that remain relevant to local consumers while improving their nutritional quality,” she said.
Researchers first study local eating habits, identify nutritional gaps and then experiment with locally available crops that can address those deficiencies without changing the taste or cooking characteristics consumers already know.
The centre’s pilot processing facilities allow scientists to work with cereals, legumes, roots and tubers sourced across Africa before products move into commercial production.
Coulibaly said local sourcing delivers benefits beyond nutrition.
“When we use ingredients produced within the country, we reduce supply risks, lower production costs, support local farmers and develop products consumers are already familiar with.”
The centre has already developed products using maize and soya sourced from Nigeria while also exploring agricultural by-products that could reduce waste and improve sustainability.
Across Nigeria and several African markets, products such as Maggi, Golden Morn, Milo and Cerelac have been reformulated to include nutrients commonly lacking in local diets. Maggi bouillon cubes contain iron and iodine to help address deficiencies associated with anaemia and iodine disorders. Golden Morn is enriched with iron, vitamin A and calcium, while Milo provides iron alongside B vitamins and vitamin C. Cerelac infant cereals are fortified with iron, zinc and vitamins A and C to support the nutritional needs of young children.
Behind each of those products, however, lies years of scientific testing and regulatory scrutiny.
“Consumers buy products because they trust them. Behind every product is extensive work to ensure it is safe, scientifically substantiated and fully compliant with regulations,” said Florence Kacou, regulatory and scientific affairs cluster manager for Sub-Saharan Africa.
She explained that specialists evaluate every ingredient, nutrition claim, label and health statement before products reach consumers, adding that, “Our responsibility is to ensure that innovation never comes at the expense of consumer safety. Every nutrition claim must be backed by sound scientific evidence and comply with regulatory requirements.”
Yet even the best-designed fortified foods cannot solve Africa’s nutrition challenge on their own.
For Brehima Emmanuel Cissoko, regional nutrition, health and wellness manager for Central and West Africa, Nestlé, food fortification should be viewed as one element of a much broader food systems strategy.
“Our objective is to improve nutritional quality through science and innovation, but governments, healthcare systems, farmers, schools, development partners, the private sector and consumers all have important roles to play,” he said.
Poor sanitation, repeated infections, malaria and intestinal worms, can all prevent children from absorbing essential nutrients even when those nutrients are present in food, he noted.
That is why experts increasingly argue that tackling hidden hunger requires coordinated investments in agriculture, healthcare, education, sanitation and scientific research.
The same thinking underpins Nestlé’s investment in African research capacity. Beyond product development, the company collaborates with universities, supports postgraduate research and trains young food scientists to develop solutions tailored to African nutritional challenges.
The importance of getting nutrition right begins even before a child is born.
Mopelola Olaiya, regional compliance manager for Nutrition, Central and West Africa, described the first 1,000 days, from conception to a child’s second birthday, as the most critical period in human development.
“The nutritional decisions made during those first 1,000 days influence health outcomes for the rest of a person’s life,” she said.
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Olaiya reiterated that breastfeeding remains the best source of nutrition during the first six months of life and stressed the importance of complying with the World Health Organization’s International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes while ensuring parents receive accurate, science-based nutritional information.
Ultimately, Africa’s nutrition challenge extends beyond producing more food.
It is about producing food that nourishes.
As climate change, rapid urbanisation and population growth place increasing pressure on African food systems, scientists are working quietly behind laboratory doors to ensure that the meals families already know and trust deliver more than calories.
A pinch of iron in a seasoning cube, vitamin A in a breakfast cereal or zinc in an infant meal may seem insignificant on its own.
Taken together, those tiny nutrients have the potential to improve children’s development, strengthen public health, boost productivity and help shape a healthier and more prosperous future for Africa.
