Malnutrition kills 2,400 children every day, caused largely by bad leadership
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
About 100 children under the age of five die every hour in Nigeria due to malnutrition, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has alerted.
That means about 2,400 Nigerian children die of malnutrition daily, in a country known for a fertile land held down in poverty by deliberately bad leaders.
UNICEF Chief Nutritionist Nemat Hajeebhoy reiterated malnutrition threatens the survival and growth of children in Nigeria when she spoke in Abuja at a media executive roundtable organised by the National Council of Nutrition (NCN).
The event was held in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President and support from UNICEF, Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Health, among others.
Hajeebhoy warned poor diet robs millions of children of their health, development, and lifetime prospects; and many do not get the diet and supplement needed to thrive.
“Left untreated, children with severe acute malnutrition are nearly 12 times more likely to die than a healthy child,” she said.
“Without urgent action, UNICEF estimates that 14.7 million children under five will suffer from moderate and severe acute malnutrition (wasting) this year.”
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Impact on GDP
“Thirteen million children will suffer from moderate acute malnutrition and 1.7 million children will suffer from severe acute malnutrition,” Hajeebhoy added, via reporting by The PUNCH.
“Up to 15 per cent Gross Domestic Product will be lost in Nigeria if no action is taken.
“Food insecurity is a major threat to Nigeria’s future and one in three households cannot afford the lowest cost nutritious diet.”
Rasaq Oyeleke, Head of Nutrition and Food Safety Division of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) would not be achieved without improving food systems.
“The food systems must provide sufficient energy and essential nutrients to maintain good health of the population,” he advocated.