Malawians all over the country are now learning about the importance of fortification thanks to the work of the Consumer’s Association of Malawi, or CAMA, who has been working closely with Project Healthy Children on fortification advocacy. With their efforts in IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) the staff at CAMA has produced literary advertisements in Malawian newspapers exhibiting the new fortification logo, and even a television advertisement that cleverly exposes the importance of eating fortified foods. The television spot plays in the local language of Malawi, Chichewa, but we have included the English translation below.
Child dressed as a lawyer: “When I grow up, I want to be a lawyer.”
Child dressed as a doctor: “I want to be a doctor to save the lives of patients.”
Child dressed as a firefighter: “I want to be a firefighter.”
Child playing football: “When I grow up I want to be an outstanding footballer.”
For all these dreams to be realized/ to come true you have to make sure that you feed your children fortified foods which have vitamins and minerals.
Go for (buy) food stuffs that bear this LOGO which indicates that they are fortified (added with vitamins and minerals) in all market places here in Malawi.
The fortification logo displayed throughout the TV spot is the same one that will be found on all packaging of fortified foods in Malawi. Developed with technical guidance from Project Healthy Children and the National Fortification Alliance, comprising representatives from government, academia, civil society, and the private sector, the fortification logo provides for easy identification of fortified foodstuffs and promotes their production and consumption.
Illustrating the country of Malawi surrounded by micronutrients (the small yellow and blue circles), the logo represents a nationwide movement to fill the holes of malnutrition with the necessary vitamins and minerals much of the population is currently lacking. With the added text “Munthu wa Thanzi,” meaning “A Healthy Person,” the logo is a creative and clear depiction of certified, fortified foods. Both the creation of the logo and CAMA’s work to expose it, are huge successes for the country’s fortification process. Malawi’s efforts to increase awareness around fortified products has the dual impact of educating consumers while at the same time increasing demand for local industry’s newly fortified products; a key step in the sustainability of the program. Surely there is more to come!