Skip to main content

Malnutrition kills 2,300 Nigerian children daily- NGO

malnourished children

Mr Ubah Nnaemeka, the Project Officer, Civil Society Scaling-up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), on Tuesday said malnutrition accounts for the death of 2,300 Nigerian children daily.

Nnaemeka made this known on Tuesday in Ilorin at a two-day Advocacy Skills and Strategic training organised for members of the organisation in Kwara.

Quoting the National Demographic and Health Survey of 2013, he also said that only 17 per cent of mothers in Nigeria breastfeed their children.

He listed three indicators of malnutrition as over-nutrition, under-nutrition and micronutrient deficiency.

According to him, if nothing positive is done to stem the rate; there is possibility that malnutrition may claim more lives of children.

He said that globally, out of a population of seven billion, no fewer than two billion were suffering from micro-nutrient malnutrition.

“Out of the five billion adult worldwide, nearly two billion are overweight or obese with one in every 12 person having type II diabetes,” Nnaemeka said.

He said that malnutrition has the ability of sapping intelligence from childhood and by extension, compromising the future of Nigerian leaders.

The project officer said at present, Nigeria accounts for 11 per cent of the total global under-five deaths, with 37 per cent of children under the age of five stunted.

Earlier, Dr Uthman Mubashir, the Chairman, CS-SUNN Local Working Group, said that the organisation was concerned with the nutrition of women and children.

He described malnutrition as a collective problem that needs collective response from all stakeholders.

Mubashir called for a strong voice by policy makers to create the desired change in the country in respect of malnutrition.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...

Fall of Assad is a Blow to Russia's Prestige

The potential fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-standing ally of Russia, would mark a turning point in Moscow’s global influence, particularly in the Middle East. Steve Rosenberg’s analysis underscores the profound implications for Russia, which has invested heavily—both militarily and politically—in ensuring Assad’s survival over the past decade. This article delves into why Assad’s downfall would strike at the core of Russian prestige and what it could mean for the broader geopolitical landscape. Russia's Strategic Commitment to Syria Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Russia has been a staunch supporter of Assad's regime. In 2015, Moscow launched a military intervention that proved decisive in stabilizing Assad’s hold on power. This intervention solidified Russia's role as a key power broker in the Middle East and demonstrated its willingness to project military power far beyond its borders. Syria is not just an ally for Russia; it is a...