Issue of Poor Nutrition among Nigerian Children
The problem of poor nutrition among children is one that is
endemic to about 70% of Nigerian families who are poor and of low socioeconomic
status. Most of these families live on $1-$2 per pay. A child’s nutritional
status is a reflection of his or her overall health. Poor nutrition results in
undernourishment and allows for lowered resistance to infection which will
increase the risk of death as a result of common childhood illnesses. According
to UNICEF, in a report released August 2015, Nigeria is facing a silent crisis
of child malnutrition and ranks second behind India among all countries with
the highest number of such cases. Almost 30% of Nigerian children are
underweight.It was also disclosed that 50% of child mortality in Nigeria is
caused by malnutrition; nearly 1,000 children die of malnutrition-related cases
every day, resulting in 361,000 deaths each year and more than. Research in
Nigeria has shown that asides from Socioeconomic status/Household income, key
determinants of poor nutrition in children is maternal education, poor housing,
poor access to healthcare services,cultural beliefs,ignorance and poor
nutritional information and poor food hygiene and sanitation. Lack of
government policies to address the issue of undernutrition in children and poor
implementation where they exist have also compounded the issue.
Hunger and malnutrition among school aged
children is widespread in Nigeria. It is a big problem indeed. UNICEF in
Nigeria reports that 25% of children aged between 1-10 years in Nigeria suffer
from malnutrition. 1 in 5 children in Abuja was found stunted, while more than
one third of children in Mushin, Lagos were malnourished. The percentage of
children, who are wasted, or too thin for their height, has steadily increased
over the last decade, rising from 11 percent in 2003 to 18 percent in 2013.
Stunting, when a child is too short for the age, is accepted worldwide as the
main indicator of malnutrition. Stunting is irreversible and linked to impaired
cognitive function and reduced school performance. The Federal Ministry of Health reports that
as at 2013, 37% of Nigerian children were stunted, which is about 12 million
children. One of the main causes of stunting is acute malnutrition, which
occurs because of rapid weight loss or a failure to gain weight within a
relatively short period. Acute
malnutrition is common among school-aged children from poor families who
sometimes go without proper food for days and even when they do eat, the food
lacks adequate micronutrients.