MALNUTRITION: NIGERIA’S SILENT CRISIS
Malnutrition: Nigeria’s Silent Crisis
u Throughouttheyears,Nigeriahas
undergonesomeremarkablechanges:
morechildrenaresurviving,theeconomy
isgrowing,girlsarebettereducated,and
Nigeriansarebetterconnectedwiththe
helpofmobiletechnology.
u Nigeriaisanationonthemove!
uHowever,malnutritionremainsagreat
challenge,particularlyformothersand
children.Itcontributestothedeathsof
abouthalfamillionchildreneachyear—
orabout1outofevery2childdeaths—
andimposesastaggeringcostto
thenation.1
uResearchonnutritioninterventionshas
demonstratedthatnutritionisasmart
investment.
uInvestmentsinnutritionhelpchildrenreach
theirfullpotential,accelerateprogresson
keyglobalhealthtargets,andadvance
economicdevelopment.Thus,nutrition
interventionsaddvaluetootherinvestments
inhealth,education,andpovertyreduction.2
MALNUTRITION: NIGERIA’S SILENT CRISIS
u Thereisa1,000daywindowofopportunity
duringpregnancyandachild’sfirsttwo
yearswhennutritioninvestmentsarecritical
forgivingachildthe“bestshot”inreaching
hisorherpotential.3
u Duringpregnancy,achild’sdevelopmentis
affectedbythemother’sintakeofvitamins
andmicronutrients.Forthefirstsixmonths
oflife,exclusivebreastfeedingisnecessary.
Afterward,atsixmonthsofage,theaddition
ofnutritioussemi-solidandsolidfoods,in
therightquantityandtherightvariety,is
crucialandextremelyimportanttoensure
thechildgrowscorrectly.4
uThecostofmalnutritionduringthis1,000
daywindowisalmostalwaysirreversible.
Itcanresultinbraindamage,growthand
developmentproblems,poorereducational
performance,andanincreasedrisk
ofdevelopingchronicandpotentially
debilitatingdiseases.5
uAlarmingly,theeffectsofmalnutritionare
notnecessarilyvisible.Forinstance,the
twoboysinthephotoarethesameage.
However,theboyontheleftsuffersfrom
underdevelopmentandstuntingdueto
malnutritionandmayneverreachhisfull
heightorhisfullpotential.
uTheintergenerationalcycleofgrowthfailure
showsthatmalnutritioniscyclicalandcan
betransferredfromgenerationtogeneration.
uAmalnourishedwomanisatgreaterrisk
ofobstetriccomplicationsanddelivering
alowbirth-weightbaby.Thebabyshown
hereisathigherriskofillness,death,and
delayeddevelopment,andwillbemore
likelytosufferfromgrowthfailureduringthe
early,criticalyears.Sheislikelytogrowinto
astuntedorunderweightwoman,which
bringsusbacktothebeginningofthecycle.
Adolescentpregnancyalsoheightensthe
riskoflowbirth-weightandmakesitharder
tobreakthecycle.6
MALNUTRITION: NIGERIA’S SILENT CRISIS
u Thereareanumberoffactorsthatcontribute
toNigeria’songoingstrugglewithmalnutrition:
• Parentsandcaregiversarenotwell-informed
aboutappropriatefeedingpractices.There
islittleunderstandingabouttheessential
typesandvarietiesoffoodsthatchildren
requiretogrowuphealthy.
• Foodandnutritioninsecurityisa
harshrealityinNigeria.Environmental
degradation,low-nutrientcrops,andhigh
foodpriceslimitaccesstofoodsources
likeproteinandfoodsthatarerichin
vitaminsandminerals,thusincreasing
poornutritionoutcomesamongwomen,
children,andfamilies.
u Fourbasic,well-testedinterventionsthatcan
helpprotectmothersandchildrenare:
• Ensuringtheyhaveaccesstoessential
vitamins,minerals,andnutrients.
• Puttingbabiestothebreastinthefirsthalf
hourafterbirthandsupportingexclusive
breastfeedingforthefirstsixmonthsoflife.
• Givingchildrentherightquantityand
varietyoffoodsfrom6monthsofage,
andtreatingmalnourishedchildrenwith
appropriatetherapeuticfoods.
• Providingparentsandcaregiverswith
informationonimprovedfeedingpractices
andthesupporttopracticethem.7
u Wecanbuildonourlonghistoryof
successesinnutrition,whichinclude:
• BeingthefirstcountryinAfricatoachieve
universalsaltiodization.
• Establishingamandatetoensurefood
productssuchaswheatflour,sugar,and
vegetableoilarefortifiedwithessential
vitaminsandminerals.
• Fortifyingcropssuchasbeans,maize,
sweetpotatoes,andcassavawithiron,
zinc,andvitaminA.
• ProducingReady-To-UseTherapeutic
Foods(RUTFs)tohelpchildrensuffering
fromseveremalnutrition.
MALNUTRITION: NIGERIA’S SILENT CRISIS
u Investmentsinnutritionpayforthemselves
andproducealifetimeofbenefitsfor
individuals,families,andnations.
u Well-nourishedchildrenperformbetterin
school.Thiscanaddatleast10percent
totheirpersonallifetimeearningsand
contributetoamoreproductivelabour
force—translatingintoan11percent
annualGDPboostforthecountry.8
u Keynutritioninterventionsalsoproduce
returnsupto25timesgreaterthanthe
initialinvestment—foreveryN100,000
spent,wewouldgenerateN2.5millionin
economicreturns.9
u Wehaveunprecedentedopportunities
toscaleupnutritioninterventions.
Theyinclude:
• Thecurrentrevisionofournational
policyonfoodandnutritiontoidentify
goalsandpriorityinterventions,and
improvecoordinationamongkey
playersinnutritionandfoodsecurity.
• SavingOneMillionLives:aninitiative
withanutrition-specificcomponent
thatwillexpandinterventionsacross
thecountry.
u TheScalingUpNutrition(SUN)movement
aimstobringcountryandgloballeaders
togethertocombatmalnutrition.
u Nigeriahasjoinedmorethan45countries
from4continents,andover100
internationalorganisationsanddonorsto
mobilizebroadcommitmentandadvance
thenutritionagenda.10
MALNUTRITION: NIGERIA’S SILENT CRISIS
u We ask youtoensurethatkeynutrition
interventionsareintegratedinto
developmentstrategiesacrossallsectors,
includingfinance,planning,agriculture,
education,womenaffairsandsocial
development,environment,andwater.
u We ask youtohelpcoordinate
programmesandpolicyeffortsfornutrition
amongthedifferentministriesand
stakeholders. Oneimportantstepisto
supporttheNationalCommitteeonFood
&Nutrition(NCFN)headedbytheNational
PlanningCommissiontobetterensure
thatallnutritioninterventionssupportand
reinforceoneanother.
u We ask youtohelpmobilizemore
governmentfundsfornutrition
interventions. Weneedexplicitbudget
lineitemsdevotedtonutritioninthe
health,agriculture,andstatebudgets.
Malnutrition is a national problem…
…finding solutions must be a shared responsibility.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Themultimediapresentation,
“Malnutrition:Nigeria’sSilentCrisis,”
waspreparedbytheNutrition
Division,DepartmentofFamily
Health,FederalMinistryofHealth,
inconsultationwithataskforce
ofnutritionstakeholdersunder
theRENEWProject.RENEWis
implementedbythePopulation
ReferenceBureau,Washington,
D.C.,USA,andfundedthrough
thegeneroussupportoftheBill&
MelindaGatesFoundation.
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