Vanessa Anetoh
A report by the United Nations Children’s Education Fund has revealed that Nigeria has the second-largest number of malnourished children globally after India.
According to the data cited by Bloomberg, Nigeria is at risk of a stunted generation owing to climate change and conflict that has left millions of children malnourished.
Of the 36 million individuals younger than five years old, 15 million are not growing to their full potential due to stunting, 2.8 million are malnourished and considered severely wasted, and an additional 30 million suffer from anemia.
However, UNICEF revealed that the conditions could be reversed and it would cost about $120 each, mostly in the form of therapeutic food, to save the affected children.
The potential cost of inaction is incredibly high; the risk that Nigerians will continue to suffer from malnourishment carries tremendous implications for the future of the country.
“The numbers are frightening,” said Nemat Hajeebhoy, head of nutrition for Unicef in Nigeria. “Essentially after the age of five or so, it’s irreversible.” Without intervention “a child who is stunted will be a stunted adult,” she said.
Last year, Nigeria experienced a natural disaster in the form of devastating flooding. Compounded with an already worsening condition brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, this event resulted in an inability to grow food at a time when many were dealing with food insecurity. To make matters worse, both bandits and jihadist groups contribute to an environment of continual unrest and danger in Nigeria’s northern half. This has made it increasingly difficult for organizations like Unicef to provide aid and immunization campaigns, leading to more suffering for Nigerians.
“When you look at the impacts of conflict on the population, it’s going to affect all forms of malnutrition,” Hajeebhoy said. “It compromises a child’s long-term growth and development” and more immediately, hungry children can be hit by wasting, she said.
Data from Unicef projected that by August 2021, the number of people facing food insecurity in Nigeria would increase to 25.3 million – eight times more than the 4 million reported in December 2019. Of those affected, dangerously malnourished children can be found throughout the nation, including Borno and Yobe in the northeast as well as Zamfara in the northwest. Wasting and stunting can lead to physical and cognitive deformities, putting young lives at risk if no solutions are implemented quickly.
The warning about the expected increase in the numbers of hungry people “has come early enough for us to act,” Hajeebhoy said. “There’s food assistance, there’s cash assistance, there’s also preparedness for ensuring that if the numbers increase, we have the best capacity to treat mothers and children from a nutrition lens with lifesaving nutrition services.”
While this is expected to cost money, she revealed that there are “two big things. It’s the planning and ensuring the resources, financial and human, are available to respond.”
