Determined to tackle rising rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), Nigeria has officially launched its National Guidelines for Sodium Reduction—becoming the first African country to set mandatory sodium benchmarks across all identified processed and pre-packaged food categories. The launch, which took place on March 26, 2025, at the Abuja Continental Hotel, marked a major public health milestone and a defining moment in Nigeria’s food policy landscape.
Speaking at the launch event, the Honourable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako described the Guidelines as a “blueprint for change, integrating global standards with Nigeria’s needs.” He urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to begin enforcing sodium limits and called on the food industry to embrace product reformulation, noting that these changes would not undermine profit or commerce but are essential for reducing the national burden of NCDs such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
The Guidelines were formally endorsed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, on November 20, 2024, following a stakeholder validation process on October 14, 2024. The endorsement was communicated in a letter to Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), dated January 22, 2025 (Ref/FSDQ/SIRN/V/11), and signed by Mrs. Olubunmi Aribeana, Director of the Food and Drug Services Department.
“I am writing to notify you that the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare signed the Guideline for Sodium Reduction on November 20, 2024, following its validation by stakeholders on October 14, 2024. The endorsement of this guideline provides Nigeria with a framework for creating a healthier food landscape, empowering consumers, promoting transparency, and fostering collaboration between policymakers, the food industry, and other stakeholders.”
Importantly, Mrs. Aribeana quoted the Minister as appreciating CAPPA’s vital support in the development of the Guidelines, which aims to ensure healthier diets and food safety across Nigeria.
The subsequent launch of the policy was the product of deliberate, multi-sectoral collaboration, in which CAPPA played a leading role, supporting technical work, coordinating inputs from diverse sectors, and advocating for strong public interest outcomes. Working with the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), CAPPA partnered with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMOHSW) and assisted the National Technical Working Group for Sodium Reduction (NTWG-SR) to design a national policy framework that is both evidence-based and aligned with global best practices.
The NTWG-SR, established and led by the FMOHSW, was inaugurated in February 2024 with its membership comprising representatives from ministries, departments and agencies of government, non-profit organisations, research institutions, academia, the food industry, and consumer groups.
Tasked with developing a roadmap and guidelines to reduce sodium consumption in Nigeria, the technical working group dived into work by reviewing the National Policy on Food Safety and Quality (NFS&Q) to identify critical gaps in food safety coordination in Nigeria. This laid the foundation for developing an empirical, locally tailored sodium reduction guideline with the ambitious but necessary target of reducing population sodium intake by 30 percent by 2030.
Key objectives of the National Guidelines for Sodium Reduction aimed at transforming Nigeria’s food environment and reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases include:
- To lower the average daily sodium intake among Nigerians to less than 2 grams per person by 2030, in line with the World Health Organisation’s global target of a 30 percent reduction in population-level sodium consumption.
- To decrease the national prevalence of hypertension and other sodium-related non-communicable diseases by 25 percent—from the current rate of 27.6 percent to 21 per cent—by 2030.
- To promote the availability and consumption of healthier, lower-sodium food options by 60 percent—from a current baseline of 30 percent to 48 percent by 2030.
- To support the reformulation of targeted processed and packaged foods to reduce sodium content without compromising product quality, taste, or texture, to be achieved progressively by 2030.
- To raise public awareness of the health risks associated with high sodium consumption and promote behavioural change through sustained education and advocacy.
Why Sodium Reduction Matters for Nigeria
Excessive salt (sodium) intake is a serious public health concern in Nigeria, contributing significantly to the growing prevalence of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and kidney failure. These conditions, according to available studies, account for 29 percent of all deaths in Nigeria, with cardiovascular disease alone responsible for 11 percent. Despite WHO’s recommendation of no more than 5 grams of salt (equivalent to 2 grams of sodium) daily, Nigerians consume much more.
Beyond the devastating health toll, NCDs place an immense economic burden on families, the healthcare system, and the country’s overall productivity, necessitating the need for effective policies to tackle the crisis.
Globally, effective sodium reduction strategies have been recognised as highly cost-effective interventions. Yet, as of 2023, only nine countries—Brazil, Chile, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Uruguay—had implemented the full set of WHO-recommended sodium reduction policies. With the launch of the Guidelines, Nigeria not only joins their ranks but also becomes the first country in Africa to establish mandatory sodium benchmarks for all identified processed and pre-packaged food categories.
According to the 2023 WHO Global Report on Sodium Intake Reduction , proactive policies could save 7 million lives could be saved globally by 2030. On this basis, Nigeria is right on track!
