Unhealthy diet responsible for 45% deaths of children under 5 – FG

Okwe Obi, Abuja

The Federal Government has revealed that 45 per cents of deaths of children under 5 could be attributed to unhealthy diet.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammed, Bello Umar, who disclosed this at the weekend in Abuja at a school quiz competition, encouraged children to eat healthy meals to address the problem.

‘’A healthy diet is important because the organs and tissues in the human our body need proper nutrition to work effectively; without good diet the body is prone to diseases, infection, fatigue, poor performance and malnutrition, which experts says is the underlying cause of 45 percent of all deaths of under five years children worldwide.’’

Umar stated that government recognised the role of healthy diet as a developmental issue, which has led to the development of a Food Guide by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

‘’The Food Guide is a guide for healthy eating and for all Nigerians. It is a food pyramid that is divided into five food groups using locally-produced food.

‘’At the bottom are bread, grains, and tubers, followed by vegetables and fruits eaten sparingly with confectionery, a glass of water is placed outside the pyramid with the advice to always drink lot of water, for full benefits of a healthy diet.

He highlighted some of the benefits of healthy diet to include weight loss, reduced cancer risk, Diabetes Management, healthy heart and stroke prevention, strong bones and teeth.

In his remarks, Country  Representative of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Suffyan  Koroma, promised to continue to support the country to achieve food security.

Represented by the Coordinator, World Food Day, Saadiya Haliru, he said: “The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)  fully recognises the importance of food and nutrition security and assures that the organisation remains focused on its mandate of raising the levels of nutrition and standards of living and ensuring humanity’s freedom from hunger by promoting sustainable agricultural development and alleviating poverty.

“On our part, FAO has developed educational materials for universities, trained school-curriculum developers as well as nutrition education professionals.

“This was as a result of a needs-based assessment in seven countries that revealed a lack of adequate training for nutrition educators.

“FAO launched the nutrition course ENACT in 2015, in partnership with African academic institutions, Nigeria inclusive.’’