Afolabi Gambari
To many Nigerians, the major happenings today are the so-called stable prices that have made queues at fuel stations across the country to be a thing of the past, the so-called being record by federal forces against the insurgents in the north-east and elsewhere or against the bandits, the new tax laws, the gale of defections by politicians from party one party to another, the near-decapitation experience of a petulant star musician at the local wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, and President Bola Tinubu’s official trips to Japan and Brazil that saw his departing from Abuja some six days to the start of his itinerary that would kickoff in the Asian country, purporting to have a stop-over in Dubai for what was not stated, among other matters that are calling for national attention.
But all the foregoing pertains only to the present. The future remains as gloomy as ever. To be sure, the government has its priorities that it must meet at one time or another, ranging from political to economic and environmental. Yet, there is no denying the fact that priority for the future must occupy a prime spot. Nonetheless, it is imperative to seek reasons why the government has paid lip service to the child malnutrition that is steadily ravaging the country, leaving over 2.5million children at great risk, especially as it puts the collective future of Nigeria in a precarious situation.
Nutrition specialists have at one point or another expressed grave concern over the government’s attitude to the malnutrition scourge with prevalence in the insurgency-ravaged north eastern part of the country, a situation they have described also as precarious.
Insurgent attacks in the north east, particularly in the Borno area, have left many children afflicted by malnutrition in acute danger. This is worsened by the fact that the attacks can occur at any time. The unsafe nature of the area has also necessitated an increase in the difficulty of reaching out easily to the affected, who would need food and medication, and unless the government does something urgent about this trend, the mortality rate of malnourished children would skyrocket in the near future. The COVID-19 pandemic did its utmost in ramping up the scourge of malnutrition. Yet, it was apparently not enough to get the government and other stakeholders to work hard at averting the looming human disaster.
Insurgency and banditry in the north east and other parts are a major contributor to the pathetic situation that the children have found themselves in, and there is little or nothing that the parents can do to ameliorate the condition. It is almost as if what the insurgents and bandits need is basically the same as what the children need, rendering whatever measures taken by the government to curb the menace fruitless.
A UNICEF estimate in 2019 revealed that over 10 million Nigerian children have been rendered stunted as the malnutrition has spared virtually no zone in the country. Interestingly, the prevalence is even in the north-west as depicted by UNICEF figure, which puts it at a staggering 50.8 per cent with north east following closely at 42.8 per cent, the north central at 29.7 per cent, south west 20.8 per cent, south south 20.4 per cent and the south east trailing the rest at 17.2 per cent.
Inadequacy of funds and other facilities has also posed a formidable threat to tackling the scourge. About 500,000 children and over one million women need to be reached for supplementary food through only 650 stabilisation centres created by UNICEF, a situation considered a serious shortfall.
However, there is a flicker of hope sustained by the hard work of personnel involved in the fight against the malaise. Through the efforts of UNICEF, field workers have embarked on strategic activities that have resulted in building the capacity of the health care providers in the affected areas, strengthening the capacity for supply chain management, gathering data and entrenching advocacy to leverage local resources, among others. The target is aimed at reducing the child mortality rate while ensuring that more funds are expended on relevant infrastructure.
By and large, the nutrition of Nigerian children is too vital to be left to the government alone. For a fact, more than $100 million is needed by the government to adequately redress the situation in the north east, while UNICEF itself requires over $1 billion to address child malnutrition in Nigeria, despite the agency’s many other commitments that require financing.
In the short term, the government needs to re-order its priorities with a view to making a needed impact in intervention efforts on child malnutrition. Above all, a social movement is urgently required whereby every segment of society will be involved for optimum results, especially as the collective future of Nigeria is at stake, if not in danger.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines malnutrition as a condition resulting from an imbalance in nutrient intake, either an excess or a deficiency of essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals or calories.
Nigeria has long battled malnutrition, but recent data suggest the crisis is worsening and, according to UNICEF, Nigeria has the second-highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 percent of children under five.
The organisation also estimates that two million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), even as only two out of every 10 children affected are verifiably being reached with treatment. Meanwhile, about seven per cent of women of childbearing age also suffer from acute malnutrition.
In addition, the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2023-2024, in data it provided recently, said 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five are stunted, 27 per cent are underweight, and 8 per cent are wasted. All this calls for very urgent action through persistent advocacy that can be sustained over a long period.
