Can Africa reduce the 2025 projected bill of 110 billion USD of food imports?

Session 28/08 at 23rd International Congress of Nutrition: 24-29 August 2025. 

Organised by: The Federation of Africa Nutrition Societies Conference (FANUS) and the African Nutrition Society (ANS) 

Both the African Union Agenda 2063 Second 10-year Implementation Plan (2024 – 2033) and the Kampala CAADP Action Plan for 2026-2035, address the continued drain on national budgets of the bill for imported foods. According to H.E. Commissioner Sacko (Ministerial Retreat, Rwanda, October 2023) the 90 billion US dollars African countries have been spending for the last 5 years on food imports is expected to reach 110 billion US dollars per year as of 2025. A political commitment at the highest level is backing the African Union’s comprehensive multi-stakeholder action plans conceived to rectify the paradox of the high cost paid for food imports by a Continent that possesses more than half of the world’s uncultivated fertile land.  

The Symposium 

1. reviewed the current situation, its challenges and opportunities, and the strategies deployed to address them; 
2. shared an ongoing example of Africa’s strategies deployed to meet those challenges; and 
3. discussed progress made in some of the strategic approaches that contribute to creating - and satisfying - a consumer demand for home grown African foods. 
   

• Professor Mady Cissé (picture), President African Nutrition Society (ANS) The Role, of Food
  Technology, the Chefs, and the Food Processing industry in Crating the Demand and Realizing the integration of Home Grown Foods in Food Supply Chains
  
  There was a 32 % increase in food imports to Africa in one year
  
  
• Dr Arne Duebecke, Laboratory Services for safe and authentic foods. Tentamus Innovation Hub Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. Bremen - The Role of Standards in Completing the Data Base on African Diets and Food Ways in the Different Ecological Zones 
• Prof. Anne Lartey, Former  Director for Nutrition FAO, and former President of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences. Creating Demand That Sustains Food Production and Supply Chains in Particular to the Urban Consumer in Africa
• Tambra Raye Stevenson, Founder/CEO of WANDA (Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Agriculture)
• Dr Robert Fungo, President Federation of African Nutrition Societies (FANUS)  
• Moderator: Dr Habiba Hassan-Wassef, ANS (African Nutrition Society) Living Legend of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences ; Health and Nutrition Policy in Sustainable Development ; Chair, National Nutrition Sciences Committee Egypt

Group picture:

Prof Francis Zotor vice president International Union of Nutrition Societies ;  Professor Mady Cissé  President African Nutrition Society (ANS) ; Dr Robert Fungo, President Federation of African Nutrition Societies ; Dr. Sara O'Neill (University of Brussels) ;  Dr Habiba Hassan-Wassef, ANS (African Nutrition Society) Living Legend of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences, Health and Nutrition Policy in Sustainable Development,  Chair, National Nutrition Sciences Committee Egypt ; Tambra Raye Stevenson, Founder/CEO of WANDA (Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Agriculture) US ; Dr Maureen Duru Foodbridge

See the full program and extracts of the conference here 23rd International Congress of Nutrition

Task forces selected at IUNS (2025–2029)

1. 
   IUNS Task Force on Ultra-Processed Foods
   

   • Chair: Prof. Mark Lawrence

   • Focus: Understanding and addressing the global nutrition and health impacts of ultra-processed foods, guiding policy, public health, and consumer awareness.

2. IUNS-ACTIVATOR (Asian Decadal Nutrition Evaluation, Reflection and Galvanizing Efforts for Future)

   • Chair: Dr. Sangeetha Shyam

   • Focus: Reviewing and learning from a decade of nutrition progress in Asia, identifying gaps, and setting priorities for the next decade.

3. Indigenous Peoples’ Food Sovereignty, Nutrition & Wellbeing

   • Chair: Dr. Treena Delormier

   • Focus: Strengthening the role of Indigenous food systems in supporting sovereignty, cultural identity, biodiversity, nutrition, and wellbeing.

4. Territorial Diets for People and Planet

   • Chair: Dr. Stineke Oenema

   • Focus: Exploring diets grounded in local territories and ecosystems, balancing human health and planetary sustainability.

5. Food and Nutrition Insecurity in Conflict Zones

   • Chair: Dr. Habiba Hassan-Wassef

   • Focus: Addressing challenges of malnutrition, hunger, and disrupted food systems in areas affected by war, instability, and humanitarian crises.

WANDA (Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Agriculture)

Meet Little WANDA—a 5-year-old Food Freedom Fighter with a big voice and an even bigger mission: fighting hunger with hip hop and heart. 🎤🥦

Today on hashtag#FoodFreedomFriday, WANDA is proud to debut our new animated anthem:
👉🏾 “Little WANDA Fights Hunger to Save SNAP and WIC”

🎬 Watch now → https://lnkd.in/eFXJ3dCw

📖 Read the blog → https://lnkd.in/eDMrUmjJ

In a moment when maternal and child health is under threat, and vital nutrition programs like SNAP and WIC face devastating cuts, Little WANDA stands tall—reminding us that food is not just a basic need, it’s a basic right.

Her song turns policy into poetry—and makes sure that our youngest voices are heard at the table and in the halls of power.

💬 “She carries the stories of our communities—and the solutions.” — Tambra Raye Stevenson, Creator of Little WANDA and Founder of WANDA

Interview with Dr Habiba Hassan-Wassef, ANS (African Nutrition Society) Living Legend of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences ; Health and Nutrition Policy in Sustainable Development ; Chair, National Nutrition Sciences Committee Egypt

Highlight: FAMA: Food and microbiota Africa

Supported by the French Embassy in South Africa, FAMA project “Food and Microbiota in Africa” was launched on 4 July 2024 for a duration of 2 years. the FAMA) project was launched at the Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS) of the University of Pretoria (UP). 

• The FAMA project aims to assess the role of traditional African foods in improving gut microbiota, and reducing the triple burden of malnutrition in South African and Senegalese populations. 
• It was designed within the “Transforming Food Systems and Agriculture through Research in Partnership with Africa” (TSARA) initiative, and builds on existing scientific collaboration among partners through previous projects and that of the CoE-FS.
• It is a project financed under Fond Équipe France, from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
• The project research partners are from across South Africa, Senegal and Europe: the CoE-FS; UP; the University of the Western Cape; Agricultural Research Council (ARC); Council for Scientific and Industrialised Research; Laboratoire de Recherche sur les Transformations Économiques et Sociales – Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire de l’Université Cheick Anta Diop (LARTES-IFAN); the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD); and the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE). In addition to the research partners, the project includes an NGO, Siyazisiza Trust (South Africa) and an agro-processing enterprise, Puratos (Europe). 
• Dr Arlène Alpha (CIRAD/CoE-FS) is the project lead.