Management of Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti (FETHI) in collaboration with the Nutrition and Dietetics Department of the hospital, has organized a programme to mark World Food Day on 16th October, 2019 at the hospital’s mini conference hall, tagged “Healthy and Sustainable Diet; Affordable and Accessible to all”.

The programme featured eye opening power point presentations, practical workshop and nutritious screening exercise with aims to having knowledge of quality and quantity attributed to healthy diet.

Dr. Fasaye Abidemi from Internal Medicine Department, who represented The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Adekunle Ajayi as well as the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Dr Idowu Adebara, at the seminar, welcomed all the invited guests, participants HODs and organizers to the programme.

He described food as one of the basic human needs, saying, “Without food, man can’t survive and as important as food is, so is the safety of food. Food has to be cultivated, grown, processed and preserved.”

Mr. Afolabi Rufus, the HOD of Nutrition and Dietetics Department said the world food day was meant to create awareness globally for those who suffer from hunger and to ensure security and nutritious diet for each and everyone. Hence, the theme of the programme focuses on tackling global hunger as stakeholders in the food chain industry.

The resource person, Mrs. Ayodeji P.A, H.O.D of Nutrition and Dietetics Department from Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti, explained that Food insecurity is the “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable way.”

According to her, poor diet and unhealthy weight place an individual at risk for an array of health consequences, including cardiovascular diseases.

She noted that agriculture cannot be the prime shaper of nutrition, nutrition should be the prime shaper of agriculture, adding that agriculture and health is inseparable. Nevertheless, intensification of agriculture is a must to feed an increased world population, yet agricultural intensification brings its own risks for people’s health.

The Nutritionist stated that birth defects, rickets, dehydration, anemia, night blindness, goiter/hyperthyroidism are consequences of under nutrition while obesity, mineral and vitamin toxicity, degenerative diseases are results of over nutrition.

The second speaker Mr. Onyenso Chinomso addressed the topic “The State of Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria”. He noted the starting point of ‘food security’ was food availability to balance unequal food distribution regional and nationally.

Mr. Onyenso, however recommended that the federal government should promote decent employment in the agricultural sector and non-farm sectors, promote nutrition education and awareness as well as modern science and technologies must be adopted to improve agricultural productivity.

On behalf of the department, Mrs Daramola appreciated all the invited guests and other participants for their contributions and thanked the management for giving the department the financial backing needed to carry out the celebration successfully.