Africa Improved Foods, a manufacturer of high quality and nutritious complementary foods, has launched its commercial products at Metroplex Mall – Naalya, Kampala, Uganda in two different events bringing together the media and mothers.
Nootri Mama and Nootri Toto are specifically designed to address nutritional needs of a child in its first 1,000 days of development.
In 2013, an alarming study entitled ‘The Cost of Hunger in Africa’ showed that Uganda loses US $899 million (approx. 1.5 trillion Uganda Shillings) annually which is equivalent to 5.6 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product due to the adverse effects of malnutrition.
Today, about 33 percent of children under the age of 5 are stunted and almost half (49 percent) suffer from anaemia, according to the 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS 2011) which makes AIF’s intervention timely.
“It is our responsibility to make sure that children are not deprived of a bright future because of malnutrition,” the AIF Country Manager Prosper Ndayiragije said.
The production of Nootri is inspired by solid evidence that the first 1,000 days, from conception to a child’s second birthday, are critical for its physical and mental development. It is widely proven and acknowledged that offering the right nutrition during this window is essential for a child’s healthy growth and cognitive development.
AIF, however, recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life and continued breastfeeding until the child is two years of age to achieve optimal growth, development and long-term health.
The products are now available in different retail outlets at a cost of Shs13,000 for a 500g pack.
Besides Nootri products, AIF’s $60m state of the art facility also produces relief foods ‘Super Cereal Plus’ for the World Food Programme as well as ‘Shisha Kibondo’ for the Government of Rwanda.