AMID FOOD INFLATION… Nigeria Risks Generation Of Children With Low IQ …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>>
The sustained food inflation in Nigeria has led to a concerning increase in malnutrition among children from poorer families.
With a staggering figure of one-in-three Nigerian children under the age of five suffering from severe food poverty, the potential long-term effects on the country’s younger generation are dire.
Malnutrition, characterised by stunting and wasting, threatens both the physical and cognitive development of these children, with UNICEF highlighting the grave risk of life-threatening malnutrition and diminished intellectual capabilities.
Malnutrition occurs when the body does not get the right nutrients in the right quantities. This leads to wasting (low weight-for-height), stu nting (low height-for-age) and underweight (low weight-for-age).
Nigeria currently has the highest number of malnourished children in Africa and the second highest globally, with over nine million children wasted and 12 million stunted.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), stunting is the impaired growth and development that children experience due to poor nutrition.
Stunted children can suffer severe irreversible physical and cognitive damage that accompanies stunted growth. The devastating effects of stunting can last a lifetime and even affect the next generation, said UNICEF.
However, a lot of families in Nigeria lack physical and economic access to sufficient and nutritious food, as UNICEF report indicates that about 11 million children, or one in every three children under five years of age, in Nigeria are experiencing severe child food poverty, making them up to 50 per cent more likely to experience wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition,
Also, a recently published report by the federal government and its partners, Cadre Harmonisé, estimates that nearly 32 million people across 26 states of Nigeria are food insecure during this year’s lean season between June and August.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA), food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Blaming the present food inflation in the country on insecurity and other factors, a consultant public health nutritionist, Dr Bamidele Omotola, said people could not farm anymore within their communities because of kidnapping and banditry.
He described it as a serious situation and expressed worry that the country is likely to record more cases of acute malnutrition as food inflation intensifies.
“It is a threat. What can the mother do? If food is not available, it’s not available. The mother, too, is dying of hunger. So the number of those who are going to be severely, acutely malnourished and the number of those who are going to be stunted with the consequences on their brain development are going to be high,” he said.
Dr. Omotola told LEADERSHIP that there will definitely be impact on children because the cost of food has been going up and many families will not be able to eat the way they used to eat.
However, he commended the government for its ongoing effort to reduce food inflation by allowing foods to enter without customs or import duties.
“Our local production cannot meet our food demand, so what do we do? That is what the government is doing now, and it had also recently announced that it would increase the minimum wage. The government is also trying to increase community safety by tackling insecurity to make the farming community safe,” he added.
On his part, the president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Bala Audu, said food prices are becoming unaffordable to most average Nigerian families and that women and children are the most vulnerable, particularly small children.
He said, “So when you look at this, there is a tendency that children will not get many calories as well as adequate protein. So this kind of situation will result in increased malnutrition as they are not receiving enough food and a balanced diet. If you have a situation where the total amount of food consumed is not enough and, in addition, it’s not balanced diet, then we will have a huge problem on our hands.”
Prof. Audu said as children grow, their brains develop, but a lack of sufficient nutrients.
“We all know that as the child is growing, his mental capacity is also improving; if the child doesn’t get enough nutrition, it will affect his mental well-being, his mental capacity, his IQ (intelligence quotient), and his ability to learn and concentrate,” he explained.
According to him, it is a crucial problem that the government, philanthropists, international development partners and others need to address.
However, according to him, UNICEF and other development partners can only supplement but the greatest responsibility lies with the Nigerian government and people.
Prof. Audu, who donated trucks of rice to states, said it is important for the government to put a monitoring mechanism in place to ensure that it reaches the weakest link in the country’s population, those who are more vulnerable and in the lowest poverty level.
“l think the government needs to ensure that it is reaching this population, then it is likely to get more impact than just sending it like that,” he said.
Meanwhile, the NMA president commended the government for its efforts in the agriculture sector, with the creation of the Ministry of Livestock and its drive towards agricultural production.
“Improving our capacity to produce more food, store it appropriately and give a stable price to our food products in such a way that farmers will get support in terms of policies, in terms of fertilizer and in terms of pesticide is the way to go,” Prof. Audu said
Speaking further, he emphasised the need to examine the country’s population dynamics and improve access to family planning in all its ramifications, so that the family will benefit from all the advantages associated with adequate child spacing in terms of good upbringing, good nutrition, and good training and education for the children.
Recently, the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) raised an alarm over the rate of acute malnutrition in northern Nigeria, saying inpatient facilities have recorded an extraordinary increase in admissions of severely malnourished children with life-threatening complications.
The organisation said the cases exceed last year’s figures by over 100 per cent in some locations, describing it as an alarming indication of a premature peak of the lean season and the increase in acute malnutrition that accompanies it, typically anticipated in July.
MSF’s country representative in Nigeria, Dr Simba Tirima, said, “We are treating patients on mattresses on the floor because our facilities are full.
“Children are dying. If immediate action is not taken, more lives hang in the balance. Everyone needs to step in to save lives and allow the children of northern Nigeria to grow free from malnutrition and its disastrous long-term, if not fatal, consequences.”
Corroborating this, UNICEF Nigeria representative Ms Cristian Munduate said malnutrition in Nigeria is on the rise, driven by conflict, forced displacement, and increasing food insecurity due to limited access and affordability.
She cited Jigawa State as one of the states that face a high burden of malnutrition, with 64 per cent of children stunted, nearly 10 per cent wasted, and around 82 per cent suffering from anaemia, adding that over 80 percent of children experience food poverty, lacking a diverse diet to support growth and development.
She, however, noted that the state had been proactive in dealing with the situation as it had been consistent in procuring Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition.
RUFT is a dense, energy micronutrient paste made using peanuts, sugar, milk powder, oil, vitamins and minerals, for treatment of severe wasting.
As part of its intervention, UNICEF recently handed over 12,400 cartons of RUTF to the Jigawa State Government, which is expected to treat 14,000 children through an initiative funded through the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF).
Munduate said the Child Nutrition Fund had allowed the organisation to double its impact, ensuring that more children receive the life-saving treatment they need.
She encouraged other state governments to emulate Jigsaw State and invest in the child nutrition fund to address malnutrition in their respective states.
The Child Nutrition Fund is a unique match funding instrument in which UNICEF and its partners match government financing of essential nutrition commodities in a ratio of 1:1. This enables states to increase the number of commodities available for the prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition.
Despite the impact of this fund, most state governments are not interested, as only five states have provided funds.
“To date, five states have provided funds to the CNF, while five states have committed to contributing. Twenty-six states and the FCT are yet to make any formal commitments”, said UNICEF.
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