A report by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has found that eight children under five years, including two newborns die every minute in Nigeria from preventable causes among which malnutrition constitutes 53 percent of the mortality rate.
The report explained that malnutrition leads to stunted growth of children leading to stunted mental capacity which constrain the children to operate at sub-optimal level with diminished Intelligence Quotient (IQ).
Presenting a paper titled, “Nutrition Situation in Northern Nigeria with Emphasis on Kaduna State,” at a one-day interactive meeting with media chief executives, Dr. Florence Oni, a UNICEF nutrition specialist represented by her staff Susan Adeyemi, said the North-west has 53% malnutrition prevalence according to the agency’s 2014 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS).
The meeting co-hosted by Kaduna State Media Corporation (KSMC) and UNICEF was informed that malnutrition therefore accounts for more than half of under-five mortality of children and women in Nigeria especially in the North.
Dr Oni further disclosed that millions of children die from preventable causes and that every minute, eight children under five years die and two out of the eight are newborn.
She explained that malnutrition leads to stunting in child’s growth and that a stunted child has stunted mental capacity and such child will operate at sub-optimal level – less Intelligence Quotient (IQ).
“A severely wasted child is 10 times more likely to die than a well-nourished child requires a drastic intervention and worsens the high mortality rate.
”A child from the poorest economic quintile is four times more likely to be malnourished compared to the children of the richest households. So there is need for multi-sectoral approach to address malnutrition with equity.
“Poor maternal and infant feeding practices leading to energy and protein deficiencies. micronutrient deficiencies: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD), iron deficiency anemia (IDA), iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) and zinc deficiency” are some of the problems emanating from malnutrition.
She advocated optimal breastfeeding as part of solution to malnutrition adding, “optimal breastfeeding could save about 800,000 under-five child lives every year and broad coverage of breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding could prevent about 220,000 deaths among children under-five years.
”Reduction of malnutrition could decrease child mortality in Nigeria by 50% and the burden of pediatric diseases by 20%. Reducing malnutrition has more impact than any other intervention, we need to focus on high-impact actions.
“Community management of acute and integrated nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions, agriculture and food security, social safety nets and early child development.
“Maternal mental health, women’s empowerment including income generating activities, child protection, classroom education, water and sanitation, health and family planning” are some of her recommendations for the way forward.
-Leadership