By Ochiaka Ugwu
The Coordinating Minister of Health & Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate has revealed that number of stunted children have increased from 37 percent in 2018 to 40 percent with number of underweight children rising from 22 percent in 2018 to 27 percent.
Prof. Ali Pate who made this known Thursday at the event of “High-Level Dialogue on the of cost of inaction on Malnutrition in Nigeria and N4G Commitment Making” co-hosted by Nutrition International and Canada High Commission in Abuja said that Exclusive Breastfeeding stagnated at 28.8 percent with Vitamin A deficiency among children under five at 31.3 percent.
Continuing, Prof. Ali Pate who was represented by Health Ministry’s Director of Nutrition, Dr. Ladidi Bako Ayegbisi (mni) stated that Nigeria alongside India and Pakistan bears over 40 percent burden of stunting affecting 11.98 million children under five.
Continuing, Prof. Ali-Pate said Nigeria was committed to addressing malnutrition through strategic policy implementation, innovative programs, and partnerships. with enhanced support in critical areas such as funding, supply chain systems, data management, and capacity building.
Also speaking, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu said it was pathetically worrisome that Nigeria was risking a substantial economic loss in billions of dollars, lost productivity, and needless public health expenditures due to our inaction in implementing result driven nutrition policies.
Bagudu who was represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Vitalis Obi noted that sustainable financing remains among the best options to leverage to drive our multisectoral approaches to improving nutrition and food security.
He said it would entail an increased commitment from public and private sources, reducing reliance on development partners and donors to implement programmes and initiatives that address the root causes of malnutrition.
Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Pasquale Salvaggio said malnutrition has continued to be a major obstacle to global health, development and prosperity noting that consequences of malnutrition were propound.
House of Representative Committee Chairman on Nutrition and Food Security, Hon. Chike John Okafor emphasized that without the visible and diverse interventions of Mr. President and the Presidency, the issues of malnutrition and food insecurity in our country would have reached critical levels.
Country Director of Nutrition International, Dr Osita Okonkwo said there has been significant progress in nutrition, but there were more to do, noting that 2025 was a pivotal year for nutrition.
