By Sola Ogundipe

LAST week, reports of cases of malnourished children at the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps in Borno State, caused a stir. Footages of persons in the camps suffering from acute malnutrition, were displayed by the   Doctors Without Borders- (Médecins Sans Frontières), MSF. The photographs were accompanied by reports that an average of eight children were dying daily from malnutrition in the state.

MALNUTRITION: Newborns and pregnant women most at risk.

However, to close observers, malnutrition is a permanent feature within the nation’s health sector. It is a silent  crisis raging in the country.

Findings reveal that in Nigeria, malnutrition remains a great challenge, particularly for mothers and children because it contributes to the deaths of about half a million children each year – or about 1 out of every 2 child deaths

Malnutrition is a condition that occurs when people consistently do not consume or absorb the right amounts and types of food and essential nutrients. The main indicator of childhood malnutrition is stunting — when children are too short for their age. Stunted children have poor physical growth and brain development, preventing them from thriving and living up to their full potential.

With over 11 million stunted children, Nigeria is facing a crisis of malnutrition and ranks second behind India among all countries with the highest number of stunted children. Malnutrition among Nigeria’s children is a serious problem throughout the country. Each year about one million Nigerian children die before their  5th birthday.

The rates of stunting have stagnated for more than a decade. About 2 in 5 Nigerian children are stunted, with rates of stunting varying throughout the country Worse still, almost 30 percent of Nigerian children are underweight, meaning they don’t weigh enough for their age. This is more than double the proportion of neighbouring Ghanaian children who are underweight.

The percent of children in Nigeria who are wasted, or too thin for their height, steadily increased over the last decade, rising from 11 percent in 2003 to 18 percent in 2013. Health experts say the first 1,000 days represent a critical window of opportunity. They say adequate nutrition during this period can avert malnutrition by ensuring that children have the best possible opportunity to grow, learn, and rise out of poverty.

Head, Nutrition, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, described a child’s nutritional status as the reflection of overall health and a cornerstone for survival, health and development.

“Malnutrition among Nigeria’s children is a serious problem throughout the country. Isokpunwu declared,  explaining that an undernourished child has lower resistance to infection and is more likely to die from illness. In addition to increasing mortality risk, poor nutrition in the first two years of life leads to stunted growth, which is irreversible and associated with impaired cognitive ability and reduced school and work performance. The global target is to reduce stunting by 40 percent and maintain wasting below 5 percent by the year 2025.

Stunting and wasting

In an investigation of the three key indicators for monitoring the nutritional status of a child under 5 years of  age –  underweight, stunting and wasting, data from the Summary of Findings of National Nutrition and Health Survey conducted from 9th February to 5th May, 2014, indicated that the country has a stunting prevalence of 32 percent among children under 5 years of age; while about 21 percent and 9 percent are underweight and wasted respectively.

Report of a survey, titled  “Malnutrition: Nigeria’s Silent Crisis,” presents the reasons why proper nutrition for women and children is so important, especially in the first 1,000 days from the start of a woman’s pregnancy until her child’s second birthday. The survey notes as a sad  commentary that the rates of stunting in Nigeria have stagnated for more than a decade. About 2 in 5 Nigerian children are stunted, with rates of stunting varying throughout nationwide.

Among factors that contribute to Nigeria’s ongoing struggle with malnutrition include lack of adequate information by parents and caregivers who are not well-informed about appropriate feeding practices and have little understanding about the essential types and varieties of foods that children require to grow up healthy.