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Samuel Bello, Abuja
Africa Middle East Progressive Initiative (AMEPI), a non-governmental organisation, has said over 2.5 million Nigerian children suffer from acute malnutrition every year.
Speaking during a press conference in Abuja, AMEPI President, Omotola Oshifeso, said every year, nearly 420,000 children under five die from common illnesses such as diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria.
The president said his organisation has made efforts to focus on first 1000 days from the start of a woman’s pregnancy to a child’s second birthday with support for nutrition-rich foods for infants and micronutrient supplements.
According to him, over 11 million children in Nigeria are stunted thus a huge drain on the future of the country. “Malnutrition is quite prevalent among women of childbearing age. The prevalence of malnutrition among these women ranges from 2 percent in the South East to 10 percent in the North East.
“The percentage is particularly high for adolescents (15-19 years) at 16 percent while it is below 5 percent for women between the ages of 20 and 49 years.
AMEPI acquires supply of Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food, a miracle treatment formulated to bring children who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition back from the brink from her donor partner, AMEPI is reaching even more kids across the country.”
