The regard by public and governments for human lives, in this era of hundreds of deaths resulting from hundreds of ways, seems to be at the lowest ebb. And this low level of concern for human lives has translated mainly into the neglect of the most dangerous but silent killer, in the form of malnutrition that is ravaging the children. The seeming carelessness with which both governments and even parents have been treating children with malnutrition has compounded what has been described as “silent health crisis” in Nigeria.
Malnutrition, to be sure, cannot be said to be the usual common disease, but its killing and maiming effects are becoming so astounding that it ought to now attract the attention of government and parents.
Malnutrition occurs when people consistently do not consume or absorb the right amounts and types of food and essential nutrients.
As a matter of fact, the main indicator of childhood malnutrition is stunting, that is when children are too short for their age. They usually have poor physical growth and brain development, preventing them from thriving and living up to their full potential.
It has been estimated that out of the three million children that die every year, half of them are as a result of malnutrition. It is also estimated that over 11 million stunted children are domesticated in Nigeria, making the country to rank second behind India across the globe.
Indeed, each year, it is reported that one million Nigerian children die before their fifth birth day and that malnutrition contributes to half of the deaths, and that almost 30 percent of the children are underweight even as the percentage of children that are too thin for their height has risen from 11 percent in 2003 to 18 percent in 2013.
Statistics also show that four out of five Nigerian children do not meet the World Health Organization’s recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life and that about 70 percent of children ages six to 23 months are receiving the minimum acceptable diet.
The feeling in many quarters that malnutrition is an affliction only for the poor has been debunked, as nutritional experts have posted that even the rich also suffer from the condition. While the malnourishment stunt and “waste” poor children, it blows out the children of the rich, by being obese.
The misconception about malnutrition, even in the government circle and among the individual, which is rooted in acute ignorance, has led to the escalation of the condition, thereby silently turning Nigeria into a land of children being “walking corpses.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has since studied the negative effects of malnutrition not only on the health of the children and even their parents, but also on the growth of the nation’s economy and social life.
Apart from detailing the devastating negative effects of malnutrition in the general socio-economic life of the nation, UNICEF has also come up with what benefit Nigeria can get from adequately addressing the malnutrition, including the fact that well-nourished children in the first 1,000 day “window” would have improved brain and physical development, with stronger immune systems that can fight off infection and diseases and make them to have sharper mental abilities. Adequate nutrition would also make the children to be better able to focus and have improved performances in their educational pursuits.
It has been estimated that investments in nutrition has the capacity to produce returns up to 25 times greater than the initial investment and that for every N100,000 spent in the nutritional project, the country can generate N2.5 million economic returns.
Because of its concern for the danger which Nigeria has been courting through the neglect as a result of ignorance, of this societal malaise, UNICEF has been organizing seminars, workshops and dialogues with relevant stakeholders towards creating public awareness
We in Greenbarge Reporters, therefore, join UNICEF, stakeholders and people of goodwill, in appealing to the governments, from local to federal levels, to sit up and find ways of quickly addressing this silent health crisis. People in health, agriculture, finance, education, women affairs and other essential sectors of the nation’s socio-economy should rise up and work together to battle the malnutrition war in all fronts.
Government at all levels need to quickly integrate nutrition into the national policies and should also be practically integrated into primary and secondary school curricula.
Above all, governments should annually provide adequate funds in the budgets for nutrition, in addition to funding or implementing programmes that use proven strategies to reduce malnutrition.
Besides, mothers should be made to start breastfeeding their babies in the first half-hour after and continue with breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months without other foods or liquids.
After the first six months, mothers should be made to start giving their children sufficient quantities of varieties of healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat, along with continued breastfeeding for up to two years or more.
Mothers and children should ensured access to essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients, in addition to parents and caregivers being given up-to-date information on infant and young child feeding practices as well as the support that they need to feed their children in the best way possible.
A stitch in time, they say, saves nine! [myad]
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