How soaring food prices are worsening child malnutrition in Nigeria

Nigeria is a nation of many unique foods with most of its states boasting of their capability of feeding the whole West Africa if the agricultural potentials are well harnessed for greater productivity. Ironically  malnutrition has been on the increase in the country as Nigeria has the highest number of malnourished children in Africa and second to India in the world. In this report, Ochiaka Ugwu writes on the nexus between a healthy population and national development.

Nutrition experts have defined malnutrition as deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy or nutrients. This can be classified in three ways which are: wasting, meaning low weight-for-height, stunting meaning low height-for-age and underweight meaning low weight-for-age

Upon government’s widespread mantra of restoring economic prosperity and improving the life of an average Nigerian, Coordinating Minister of Health & Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate revealed last year that number of stunted children had increased from 37 percent in 2018 to 40 percent with number of underweight children rising from 22 percent in 2018 to 27 percent in 2025. He said that Nigeria alongside India and Pakistan bears over 40 percent burden of stunting affecting millions of children under five years old worldwide.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that, “As of 2025, an estimated 127 to 150 million children under five globally are suffering from stunting, representing a failure to meet the World Health Assembly target of 100 million by 2025”.

It noted that while rates are declining in most regions, significant numbers of children, particularly in Africa and Asia, remain affected by chronic undernutrition.

Recall that the World Health Assembly (WHA) target of reducing the number of stunted children under five years of age to approximately 100 million by 2025 is a global nutrition goal adopted in 2012. This target represents a 40% reduction from the 171 million stunted children estimated in 2010, which requires an average annual relative reduction rate (AARR) of 3.9% between 2012 and 2025.

Also, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated last month that fifteen years of armed conflict in North-East has led to food insecurity which is threatening the lives of many of the country’s youngest.

The world body stated that almost 6.4 million children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition across the northeast, northwest, and north central regions occasioned by the conflicts.

However, speaking to Peoples Daily on this topic, a dietician in National Hospital, Abuja, Jane Blessing Omada blamed the increasing child malnutrition on financial disparity noting that high food cost has made some nutritious foods to go beyond the reach of most Nigerians.

She noted that there is core relationship between poverty and malnutrition, saying it is highly concentrated among the lowest income population with poor households accounting for a greater percentage of stunted and underweight children.

Omada revealed that impoverished households stand more chance of risk of malnutrition, with stunting, wasting and underweight prevalence in the low-income homes being more than twice that of the high-income population.

Omada did not only blame poverty for malnutrition prevalence in Nigeria, but poor dieting practice among the populace saying that most times people don’t know the right food to consume for healthier life.

She however, advocated for proper nutritional education and sensitization for people especially women to know the right food to consume to enable them boost their immune system and live healthier life.

A nursing mother, Hauwa Ibrahim while admitting that poverty is the main factor causing child malnutrition said that malnutrition is highly connected with economic disparity, acting as both a cause and consequence of poverty.

Speaking on the high menace of child malnutrition, Ibrahim told peoples Daily that Children’s Wards in most hospitals within Abuja suburbs are populated with malnourished children, too weak to combat disease, with their caregivers by their bedside.

Ibrahim’s story was corroborated by a health worker who doesn’t want her name in print. She told Peoples Daily that General Hospitals in Abuja always have on the hospitals’ waiting chairs several mothers and their children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with some of the children looking frail and famished. This reality could just be a fraction of the millions of children all across the nation who have been battling the worst and most deadly form of malnutrition as the country remains gripped by high food cost amid conflict that has deprived farmers of proper farming activities that threatens food security. If the situation is this worrisome in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), your guess could be as good as mine as to what will be happening outside the capital cities.

Peoples Daily investigations revealed that this high level of malnutrition is particularly prevalent among pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

Unicef in its report in March said that seven percent of women of childbearing age in Nigeria suffer from acute malnutrition. It means that seven percent of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are malnourished, showing that they are sacrificing their own nutritional wellbeing to feed their children.

This not-too-good situation poses an unimaginable risk not only for the health of mothers, but also for the nation. Experts have postulated that about 30 percent of child malnutrition begins in womb, giving credence that children born by malnourished mothers are likely to be already malnourished themselves at birth.

Speaking on tackling the challenges posed by child malnutrition, a nutritionist, Emelda Idegwu expressed optimism that the challenges could be surmounted with honest commitment from government and stakeholders working with communities and mothers as well.

Idegwu who stressed the need to provide nutrition care at all health facility to provide information and proper orientation to expectant and breastfeeding mothers, said it would certainly improve healthy life and lead to greater awareness that will see to the reduction of this ugly trend.

“Initiative like this will enable the babies grow up healthy and bring happiness to the society. When they learn about child nutrition from such initiative and from the counseling sessions, they will know how best to approach issues and support their babies’ growth and development” Idegwu stated with high optimism.

Idegwu wants Federal Government through Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to ensure continuous service delivery at healthcare facilities and institute mobile teams to visit rural communities where malnutrition is high. “They should motivate health workers working in the rural communities, build their capacity and monitor their activities towards meeting the health needs of the people.

“There should be nutritionists who will attend to the mothers one by one, examining and screening the children with the aim of educating them on their nutritional needs. They should have a deep session with the mothers to discuss the way forward for a better healthy society” she stated.

Most who people spoken to by Peoples Daily on malnutrition would prefer to have their diet diversified, but said affordability was the main issue and mostly responsible for high rate of malnutrition.

However, government and stakeholders should rollout targeted programmes that permeate in the consciousness of the society towards upscaling nutrition.

The persistence of malnutrition in our society suggests that general economic growth is not sufficient and that targeted interventions, like the Nutrition 774 Initiative should be strengthened and domesticated in all the wards in Nigeria with the people at the grassroots owning it and living it.

Above all, promoting female literacy and inclusivity in formulation of policies on health matters are crucial to upscaling nutrition in our society.