The Federal Government has revealed that more than four million children in Nigeria’s Northeast and Northwest regions are currently suffering from malnutrition. This alarming statistic was disclosed by Mrs. Ladidi Bako-Aiyebusi, Director of the Nutrition Department at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, during a strategic advocacy meeting in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
The five-day meeting, organized in collaboration with the Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) and other nutrition partners, is aimed at formulating policy directions to address the growing malnutrition crisis in the country. The gathering, which includes nutrition experts, academics, and civil society organizations, will run until Saturday.
Bako-Aiyebusi highlighted that Nigeria is grappling with a severe triple burden of malnutrition, characterized by widespread macro and micronutrient deficiencies, undernutrition, and overnutrition. These issues are severely impacting both public health and socio-economic development across the nation.
According to the 2021 National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey, nearly 4.4 million children in the Northeast and Northwest are malnourished. The director cited several contributing factors, including inadequate access to food, poor dietary practices, improper feeding and caregiving, low economic status, insufficient health-seeking behaviors, and a lack of education among the affected populations.
The ongoing meeting is expected to yield critical strategies for combating the malnutrition crisis, with the hope of mitigating its devastating effects on Nigeria’s future generations.
