Nigerian government creates task force to control malnutrition

The Nigerian government has created a ministerial task force to rapidly develop an action plan to address malnutrition among children in Nigeria.

This was revealed by the Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, in a statement issued on Thursday.

According to him, the task force will develop an action plan that will focus on resource mobilization and solutions to malnutrition among children.

It will also take into account the substantial burden it places on girls and women.

Pate said proper coordination along with a strong drive for action in the country is crucial to reducing malnutrition.

“We will monitor progress and ensure accountability in the deployment of urgent interventions, including the distribution of micronutrient powders, therapeutic foods and other nutritional supplements,” he said.

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The minister reiterated that the country is struggling to address its malnutrition crisis, as it is among the countries with the highest burden of malnutrition globally.

This crisis, he stated, is concentrated mainly in the northwest and northeast, “although no region is free of malnutrition.”

“The underlying reasons for this situation are multifaceted, including the nature of governance over several years, demographic dynamics with high dependency in the context of mass poverty in parts of the north, coupled with insecurity in certain areas,” although the impact of “Climate change affects agricultural productivity and food systems, food practices and the social economic disempowerment of girls and women,” she stated.

World Bank Financing

The minister said international partner organizations have urged the federal government to secure $30 million funding from the World Bank to Accelerate Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN).

The $232 million project focuses on increasing the quality and cost-effectiveness of nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children under five.

He said: “In line with the Renewed Hope Agenda, we now face this crisis head-on. Addressing malnutrition is not only a moral imperative but also essential to improve health and ensure the sustainable development of the nation.

“Our inter-ministerial and multi-partner meeting was convened today to assess ongoing efforts to effectively address this crisis. We appreciate the contributions of UNICEF, MSF, the World Bank, WFP, RESCUEorg, BMGF, fhi360 and several others who joined my government colleagues. “We are encouraged by the prospect of immediately unlocking $30 million from the World Bank’s #ANRIN project, as well as a potential 1:1 match from the Child Nutrition Fund.”

Pate also said the ministry plans to boost local production of therapeutic foods and involve communities more in treatment, with the aim of expanding beyond the existing 1,192 treatment sites, which are mostly located in primary care centres. of health.

He called on state authorities “to also be on high alert, complement the efforts of various agencies in their respective states and provide additional resources to manage this difficult phase.”

Malnutrition in Nigeria

A report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) showed that Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a prevalence of 32 percent of children under five years of age.

According to the report, an estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), but only two in ten affected children currently receive treatment. It is said that 40 percent of these cases are concentrated in six states.

In addition, more than six million children suffer from moderate malnutrition and many pregnant and lactating women suffer from micronutrient deficiencies.

On Tuesday, a foreign medical organization, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), raised the alarm about the growing number of malnourished children in the country.

The organization, popularly known as Doctors Without Borders, said its hospital facilities in the northern part of the country have seen an extraordinary increase in the admission of several malnourished children with life-threatening complications.

He said the numbers exceeded last year’s numbers by more than 100 percent in some places.

The organization said it is alarmed by the early rise in malnutrition cases, usually seen in July, noting that it suggests a worsening of the lean season.

READ ALSO: Banditry: MSF warns of catastrophic levels of malnutrition in northwest Nigeria

The organization stated: “Everyone must intervene to save lives and allow children in northern Nigeria to grow up free of malnutrition and its disastrous, if not fatal, long-term consequences.

“For the past two years we have been warning about the worsening malnutrition crisis. The years 2022 and 2023 were already critical, but in 2024 an even bleaker picture is developing. We cannot continue repeating these catastrophic scenarios year after year. What will it take for everyone to take notice and act?”