The effect of malnutrition in Nigeria

BY UTENGEABASI JONATHAN

There are hisses here  and there; uncontrollable exclamations of rage are breaking out from half of the people in Nigeria about malnutrition. Malnutrition in this context is lack of healthy foods, leading to physical harm.

NAFDAC which is responsible for the regulation and control of importation, exportation, manufacturing, advertisement, distribution, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, and edible chemicals has set up the importance of food and drugs to man and animal, particularly that of man which is very obvious. Man needs food in order to grow and sustain life.
Malnutrition in Nigeria is rampant in children under the ages of 5 with signs as stunting being most prevalent..

Malnutrition in children here is understood as under nutrition which is common globally and results in both short and long term irreversible negative health outcome including stunted growth which may also be linked to cognitive development deficits, underweight and wasting. Stunting is extremely low height for the age of children, underweight is extremely low weight for the age of children and wasting his extremely low weight for height of the children.
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that malnutrition account for 54% of child mortality Worldwide, about one million children. Still on WHO, it is estimated that childhood underweight is the cause of about 35% of all death of children under the age of 5 years worldwide.

However, malnutrition in Nigeria is caused by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation or insufficient hygiene; factors related to society and poverty, diseases, material factors, gender issues and overall are poverty. Foods taken by children in Nigeria are locally made, which are probably made in unhygienic environment that can cause infections in the organs of a child, such as bread, rice, beans, garri and lot more. Diseases such as kwashiorkor is caused by poor balance diet which leads to swollen stomach and tiny hands and legs. Poverty as the overall cause of malnutrition in Nigeria is due to the fact that Nigeria is relying on crude oil revenue allocation. There are no other sources of income, governments are no longer reinforcing the famers by providing fertilizer and farming equipment’s and civil servants are not well paid.

Children are severely affected by malnutrition in Nigeria. World Bank estimates that 9% of malnutrition has structural damage to the brain and impairs infant motor development and exploratory behavior. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) estimates that over one million of Nigerian children between ages of birth to 5years are malnourished while many died everyday due to malnutrition. The case of a Nigerian child is likened to the paradox of staying in the middle of the sea, yet no water to drink. The famous question now is: are Nigerian children abandoned or deprived of their right as citizens?

The above question is derived due to the fact that malnutrition is increasing in Nigeria everyday even when immunization is in progress. This is because unsafe water is given to children and they are being nurtured in a dirty environment.

 It is therefore the duty of Government agencies to protect health and citizens. The challenge in this regard apart from that of providing treatment facilities for the sick is to prevent the hazards arising from unwholesome foods, ineffective, substandard and adulterated drugs, toxic and corrosive cosmetics and chemicals as well as contaminated water. And also, providing social amenities such as treated pipe borne water.

Also, mothers should take the responsibility of guiding children from drinking unsafe water and eating contaminated foods to reduce the percentage of malnutrition in Nigeria.