By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
That malnutrition situation in Nigeria is worrisome and requires strategic action is to say the least. That it has killed many children and denied others opportunities of achieving their full potentials is to put it mildly. That it leads to great loss of the country’s GDP is to state the obvious.
In Nigeria, the challenges posed by malnutrition is dire. World Bank has estimated that Nigeria loses 15 percent Gross Domestic Products (GDP) annually to Micro-Nutrient deficiency (MND).
This report added that MND causes an increased financial burden on the healthcare system and an indirect loss of productivity.
The National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), 2018 in its indices on malnutrition said Nigeria ranked 1st in Africa and 2nd in the world in terms of number of children malnourished.
It said 14 million children in Nigeria are stunted, 3 million wasted while 24 million are anaemic.
“The average annual rate of reduction for stunting is only 0.4 per cent
points per year. 25 million people are hungry, 14.5 million people suffer while from Acute Food Insecurity”,
Speaking at a two-day media dialogue in Enugu State recently, UNICEF Nutrition Officer, Nkeiru Enwelum, said National Multisectoral Plan of Action for Nutrition (2014-2019), indicated that, “it costs $15 (~ N6,000) to prevent malnutrition through the delivery of high- impact nutrition interventions.
“It costs $120 (~ N60,000) to treat malnutrition through Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (8times the cost of prevention).
She added that failure to prevent and treat malnutrition can result in
long term cognitive and growth impacts and loss of income for households and up to 15% GDP loss for Nigeria; increased morbidity and potential death.
The expert added that 45% of all child deaths is from poor nutrition, saying that poor nutrition in the 1,000 days from conception of a child to 2 years of age results in permanent damage.
While preferring solution to the challenges posed by malnutrition, she said
children aged under five years should benefit from diets practices and services that prevent stunting, wasting and micronutrient deficiencies including anemia.
“Caregivers of children aged 0-23 months are supported to adopt recommended infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, including both breastfeeding and complementary feeding.
“Children aged 0-59 months have improved nutritional intake and status through age- appropriate nutrient-rich diets, micronutrient supplementation, home-fortification of foods and deworming prophylaxis, according to context.
“Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers’ and adolescents benefit from diets, practices and services that protect them from undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies including anaemia.
“Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers – with special attention to pregnant adolescent girls and other nutritionally at-risk mothers – have access to a package of interventions that includes at a minimum: iron and folic acid/multiple micronutrient supplementation, deworming prophylaxis, weight monitoring, nutrition counselling, and nutrition support through balanced energy protein supplementation, according to context.
“Children, adolescents, caregivers and communities are aware of available nutrition services and how and where to access them.
Children, adolescents, caregivers and communities are engaged through participatory behaviour change interventions to adopt optimal practices.
“Caregivers and communities are supported and empowered to prevent malnutrition, as well as to identify and refer children with life-threatening forms of undernutrition”.
Also speaking, a professor in the department of mass communication, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Chidi Ezinwa, said SDGs cannot be achieved until the rights of children are fulfilled.
Mr Ezinwa said the government must take action that will not endanger the future, health, and education of children in the country.
“No one must be left behind, including children. The child is a right holder,” he said.
He said Nigeria domesticated the Child Rights in 1993 but has still not gotten it right in observing and giving full attention to the rights of a child.
He said some children are turned into adults overnight when they are forced to leave school, do hazardous work, get married, or be locked up in adult prisons.
“We need to understand that a sustainable future depends on how we meet the needs of children and young people today is important. The quality of our children now determines the future of Nigeria,” he said.
Dr Adepeju Adeniran, National Chairperson, Nigerian Chapter of Women in Global Health, while speaking at the sixth Protein Challenge digital dialogue with the theme “The Case for a Protein-centred National Nutrition policy in Nigeria” said nutritional policy will be able to respond to 51 per cent of the targeted population under the national survey on household protein consumption who did not have access to protein-rich foods because of cost.
Adeniran, a public health expert, said protein consumption habits are influenced by the choice of meals in the home, preference of the buyer, availability and affordability of the food, including its taste as well as individual knowledge of the nutritional value of various foods.
According to her, “often what we eat in the house is determined by what the person who is purchasing prefers. And this is why the power of decision-making is another place that we must target protein education and protein affordability.”
Meanwhile, on 1 April 2016, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed 2016–2025 the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition.
It said the decade is an unprecedented opportunity for addressing all forms of malnutrition. It sets a concrete timeline for implementation of the commitments made at the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) to meet a set of global nutrition targets and diet-related NCD targets by 2025, as well as relevant targets in the Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030—in particular, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) and SDG 3 (ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages).
Also in its determination to proffer solution, the federal government said it is considering waiving duties on nutrients imports.
The government said the move will ease producers’ access to essential vitamins and minerals.
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Ministry of Health plans to engage the Ministry of Finance on categorising micronutrients at dire levels of deficiency in the diet of millions of Nigerian children under duty-free imports.
The move was part of intensified advocacy by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Aliko Dangote Foundation and TechnoServe, a non-profit organisation focused on business solutions to poverty and it is expected to see staple food such as edible oil, wheat flour, sugar and salt adequately enriched during processing.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, while speaking
during the 4th annual Nigerian food processing and leadership forum in Lagos, said the government will take the request for a decrease in import duties to colleagues in the Ministry of Finance with a view to tackling the issue.
Data released at the forum chaired by Aliko Dangote, Chairman, Dangote Group showed that compliance with food fortification standards is on the rise with more than 90 percent of the Nigerian market for salt, wheat flour and sugar reached with essential micronutrients.
“The rate of salt fortification with iodine has been sustained at 90 percent since 2018, with over 185 million accessing iodised salt from four brands. Edible oil nourished with vitamin A rose by 16 percent to 49 percent in 2021 from 33 percent in 2020, reaching 94 million Nigerians.
About 64 percent of Nigeria’s population, (134 million) were reached with wheat flour rich in vitamin A, vitamin B3 and iron in 2021 full year”, the data said.
