Chioma Umeha
Dr. Davis Bamidele Omotola, a Nutrition
Consultant, has said that about 25 million children under the age of five are
currently affected by malnutrition in the country, adding that the high
prevalence rate of malnutrition has remained precarious in Northeast Nigeria.
Speaking recently
during a presentation at the Media dialogue with Journalists and
interface with OAPs on Child Malnutrition in the Northeast organised by the
United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), and Child Rights Information Bureau of
the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in Yola, Adamawa State,Dr.
Omotola said that monies wasted on needless programmes can be invested in
malnutrition.
Dr. Omotola who spoke on the topic “Child
malnutrition and the emergency in northeast Nigeria,” also disclosed that
Nigeria currently requires about $100 million to curb the menace of
malnutrition in the country. According to him, every six children is reported
to have chronic malnutrition or stunting in three northeast emergency states.
He observed that Children in Northeast Nigeria are the most hit by the
malnutrition crisis in Nigeria.
“Child malnutrition is recorded very high mostly
in northern states. One Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) case is reported in
every seven children in nine north east emergency states.
“Prevalence rate of acute malnutrition among
children under the age of 6-13 has stood nationally at seven per cent.
While Northwest has 50.4 per cent of stunting
malnutrition, Northeast has 42.8 per cent, North-Central 29.8 per cent,
Southwest 20.8 per cent, South-South 20.4 and Southeast 7.1 per cent,” he said.
While identifying malaria and diarrhea as the main
killers of children under the age of
five, Dr. Omotola said that 30 per cent of these deaths would have been
prevented if adequate care was given to the children.
He stressed that the first 1000 days in the life
of every child is very crucial. “That is from the day the child was conceived
to when he is two years,” he added.
He further identified poverty, maternal nutrition,
insurgency, high food insecurity, increasing the spread of endemic diseases and
low coverage of immunisation programmes as factors affecting malnutrition in
the northern part of the country.
While calling for collaborative efforts towards
investing in child malnutrition for a better future, Dr. Omotola called on the
Federal Government to do more in terms of releasing funding meant for
addressing health-related issues in the country.
On his part, Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said that while malnutrition constitutes a serious setback
to the socio-economic development of a nation, sustainable growth in Nigeria
cannot be achieved without prioritised efforts to scale-up and sustain
investment for nutrition.
Represented by Olumide Osanyinpe, Deputy
Director/Head, Child Rights Information Bureau, Federal Ministry of Information
and Culture, Mohammed lamented that the country is bearing a large burden of
malnutrition. Mohammed called for collaborative efforts toward
investing in child malnutrition for a better future.
“Malnutrition is a large burden to a country, and
tackling malnutrition entails empowering and educating people. Improved
nutrition is key to improved national and human development and this can be
done by educating the populace and creating a positive approach towards
nutrition.
“Addressing nutrition is one of the ways through
which sustainable development goals can be achieved, therefore investment in
nutrition will help reduce the negative trend of malnutrition which has been
ensured by creating this dialogue,” the Minister said.
While calling for a collaborative effort to reduce
the tide, he further commended the
effort of UNICEF and DFID over the priceless contributions towards promoting
the health of Nigerian mothers and children as well as ensuring that the goals
of health strategies targeted are met through constant dialogues.
Also, Dr. Martin Jackson, UNICEF nutrition
officer, Bauchi while speaking on the topic, “DFID support for child malnutrition
in the northeast,” said that the DFID has so far distributed vitamin A
supplement in some local government areas in Borno and Yobe states.
He advised fathers to be fully involved in the
nutrition of their children, adding that exclusive breastfeeding improves the
growth of a healthy child.
