Scaling up Nigeria's national salt reduction program
Official title: Evaluating the Implementation and Scale-Up of Nigeria National Sodium Reduction Program
Funded at University of Abuja · NIH-11181019 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project works to lower salt in Nigerian foods and communities to help reduce high blood pressure in adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Abuja NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Abuja, Nigeria) |
| Project start | September 15, 2020 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $668,977 |
| NIH project number | 5UH3HL152381-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11181019 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adults in Nigerian communities who can complete surveys or provide dietary information and stakeholders involved in food production, retail, or policy.
✕Less likely to help
People outside Nigeria or those not taking part in surveys, interviews, or local implementation activities are unlikely to directly benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you live in Nigeria, this effort aims to reduce how much salt is in packaged foods, street foods, and home cooking using WHO's SHAKE approach. Researchers will interview health and food-industry stakeholders, survey households and shoppers, and inspect products in stores, markets, and informal vendors over several years. They will also measure where most dietary salt comes from at the start and again near the end to guide and track changes. The project links repeated surveys and interviews with the international FoodSwitch system to spot product changes and inform policy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lower average blood pressure and reduce heart disease and stroke risk across Nigerian communities.
How similar studies have gone: National salt-reduction efforts in countries like the UK, Finland, and South Africa have cut population salt intake and blood pressure, though adapting approaches to Nigeria's mixed formal and informal food markets is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ojji, Dike Bevis — University of Abuja
- Study coordinator: Ojji, Dike Bevis
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.