On 28 February 2023, the Société de Transformation Alimentaire (STA) company launched Vitamil + on the market. Vitamil + is a milk flour designed to meet children’s nutritional needs, as a complement to breastmilk. This quality product, which complies with international production and marketing standards, is manufactured in Niger and sold at a price that households can afford. Developed with support from GRET and Hystra as part of the Meriem project, it is one of several innovative responses to contribute to the fight against malnutrition, which affects young children’s development, particularly in precarious neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Niamey.
A quality flour, produced using local ingredients
The Vitamil+ flour, designed to meet the nutritional needs of children aged 6 to 24 months, is made using local ingredients such as millet, groundnuts, cowpea and soybeans, and fortified with vitamins and minerals. It is also a product that is quick and easy to prepare and cook – five minutes for one portion of porridge, making it more appealing to families.
A competitive product compared to imported flours
Quality manufactured fortified foods have strong potential to prevent malnutrition in young children and their mothers. Yet, locally produced fortified infant flours are still too rare, while imported products remain unaffordable for a large majority of the population. Enabling the development of a local quality products offer in peri-urban areas, where the malnutrition rate is particularly high, is one of the objectives of the Meriem project. The Vitamil + flour is part of this strategy: marketed in urban areas and available in numerous points of sale (pharmacies, large supermarkets, neighbourhood shops), it is sold at a very competitive price compared to imported flours.
You will find more information on the Vitamil + flour and STA here : A well-fed child makes for a thriving family” Vitamil+, a ready-to cook milk flour for infants in Niger
