BY SOLA OGUNDIPE

Except the challenge of sub-optimal nutrition among infants and other unmet health problems confronting Nigerian children are adequately tackled, the country may not advance further towards attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on health.

Towards this end, President Good luck Jonathan has been called upon to set up a National Nutrition Agency to take reponsibility for ensuring the goal of ensuring optimal nutrition for children in Nigeria.

The Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN), made the call even as Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark this year’s World Children’s Day Friday last week .

At a media briefing to herald the day, President of the Association, Dr. Dorothy Esangbedo observed that the need to set up the National Nutrition Agency was of “most importance” because it will be responsible for advocacy, monitoring and evaluation of childhood nutrition in the country.

Esangbedo who observed that despite some reduction of under-five mortality in the country, PAN was concerned that the nation’s under-five mortality still ranks among the worst in the world.

Noting that optimal nutrition of Nigerian children remained, on the average, a major challenge, she lamented that with the decline of exclusive breastfeeding rate in babies below six months old in the country to 13 percent and 23 percent of children under-5 are severely stunted as revealed in the 2008 NDHS, improvement of nutrition would boost the immune-competence of children to withstand malaria and other illnesses.

Her words: “So we see the urgent need to improve on and sustain awareness drive on exclusive breastfeeding nationwide, and the need to step up on the revival of a comprehensive school health programme that incorporates compulsory access of school children to a significant percentage of the daily nutritional requirements while in school.

She said PAN recognised the 2011 WCD as another opportunity for a fresh mandate at delivering the much needed dividends of democracy especially in the health sector and specifically to the Nigerian children.

Further, Esangbedo requested for greater efforts to revive routine immunisation in the country and introduction of new vaccines such as Haemophilus Influenza type b, Pneumococcocal and rotavirus vaccines into the childhood immunisation schedule. The Association aslo called for creation of an immunisation fund to ensure equity and sustainability of the programme will go a long way in reducing childhood mortality from vaccine preventable diseases and achieving MDG 4.