The recent disclosure by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Abdullahi Sabi, that 2 million Nigerian children are suffering from stunted growth due to acute malnutrition is disturbing and calls for concerted actions to arrest the trend. The minister, who stated this at the HarvestPlus Nutritious Food Fare in Kaduna State, pointed out that 7 per cent of Nigerian women are suffering from acute malnutrition at child birth.
According to the minister, Nigeria has the second largest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 per cent of children under 5 which is estimated at 2 million who suffer from acute malnutrition. Only two out of every 10 children affected are currently reached with any treatment.
The figure reeled out by the minister, though grossly conservative, is still worrisome. It places Nigeria as the country with the second highest number of stunted children in the world. Considering our human and material resources, Nigeria should not have any pact with hunger, let alone the extreme case resulting to stunted growth. The fact that the federal government has admitted the prevalence of stunting underscores the gravity of the situation.
Malnutrition is a direct or underlying cause of 45 percent of all deaths of under-five children, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that in children who are 6–59 months of age, severe acute malnutrition is defined by a very low weight-for-height/weight-for-length, or clinical signs of bilateral pitting oedema, or a very low mid-upper arm circumference. Severe acute malnutrition affects an estimated 19 million children under 5 years of age worldwide and is estimated to account for approximately 400,000 child deaths each year.
Children with severe acute malnutrition often have micronutrient deficiencies which need to be corrected for a complete nutritional recovery, the global health agency stated.
Government at all levels must do something to address the challenge of acute severe malnutrition and stunted growth among Nigerian children. Malnutrition is further caused by food crisis in some states as a result of insurgency and clashes between farmers and herders. Without adequate supply of nutritious foods, meat, fish and vegetables and high cost of available ones, more people are likely to be affected by malnutrition.
Due to the reckless killing of rice farmers in Borno State as well as the relentless killing of farmers in other parts of the country, especially the North Central region, many farmers can no longer engage in farming.
The states in the northern parts of the country are the most affected by the two forms of malnutrition – stunting and wasting. Reports by the World Food Programme (WFP) indicated that an estimated two million children under the age of five in the North-East are suffering from moderate malnutrition while other 700,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition. Besides, 4.4 million people in the region are urgently in need of food assistance. Years of armed conflict in the area had contributed to hunger and malnutrition among the people. The situation has become so dire that something drastic needs to be done urgently. Efforts must be intensified to stem the menace of insurgency, terrorism and herder-farmer clashes in some parts of the country.
Malnutrition is a reflection of the high incidence of poverty in the country, which the federal government acknowledged to be at 94.5 million. The situation must be addressed.
Tackling malnutrition should not be left for the federal government alone. States and local governments should make nutritious foods available to the people. There should be a properly articulated programme to boost agriculture in the country so as to enhance food production. The budget for the sector should be increased at both the state and federal levels. More hands should also be deployed to the sector.
Stunted growth among the children has serious impacts on the future of the country and its development. The future of any country belongs to its children. Having many children suffering from acute malnutrition will not augur well for the development of the country. That demands that the citizens must be seen to be healthy.
In addition to an increased risk of death, stunting is also linked to poor cognitive development, a lowered performance in education and low productivity in adulthood, all contributing to economic losses estimated to account for as much as 11 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). WHO recommends that all severely malnourished children should receive adequate vitamins and minerals. Let the government ensure that Nigerian children are saved from acute malnutrition.