7million Nigerian Children Malnourished – Nutritionist

Dr Uthman Mubashir, Kwara Coordinator of the Civil Society Scaling up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), on Monday said about seven million children in the country are malnourished.

Mubashir told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin that two out of every three children are not properly fed.

According to him, the mortality rate due to malnutrition is high and running into two digits.

“With over 11 million stunted children, Nigeria is confronted with the daunting challenge of malnutrition and ranks second behind India among countries with highest number of stunted children globally,” he said.

The expert noted that children are mostly prone to malnutrition because of their young age.


He said that micro-nutrient deficiencies, hidden to the naked eyes, are pervasive throughout the country with vitamin A, zinc, iron, folic acid and iodine being the most common.

The nutritionist said he believed that public health importance was the prevalence cause for the rise of malnutrition, consisting of poor infant and child feeding practices.

He listed other malnutrition drivers to include lack of access to healthcare, water and sanitation, and high level of poverty.

Mubashir, however, pointed out that the money the government spent on fighting hunger and malnutrition was not commensurate to what was on ground.

He said that much had not been achieved in the fight against child malnutrition, stressing that death recorded from malnutrition is still high.

Mubashir urged stakeholders to adopt the National Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition.

He added that malnutrition could be defeated through well coordinated and multi-sectoral approaches.