Report: 1.7 Million Nigerian Children Severely Malnourished

UNICEF, FG provide succour for 200,000 children

Paul Obi

A new report released by UNICEF and the federal government yesterday in Abuja indicated that about 1.7 million Nigerian children are severely malnourished and in dire need of prompt services to curtail the menace.

UNICEF Country Representative, Jean Gough, said: “There are approximately 1.7 million acutely malnourished children under five in Nigeria – accounting for a tenth of the global figure.

“Nearly a thousand Nigerian children die of malnutritionrelated causes every day – a total of 361,000 each year. Acute malnutrition also leads to stunting of children, causing life-long physical limitations and can reduce intellectual capacity.”

She observed: “Communitybased Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) was piloted in Gombe and Kebbi States in 2009 and has now been introduced in 11 northern Nigerian states where malnutrition poses the greatest threat.

“CMAM treats acutely malnourished children from six months to five years old on an out-patient basis. More than 830,000 children have been cured in the programme with the cure rate rising steadily, currently standing at 85 per cent. Of the remaining children, about two per cent do not respond to treatment and are referred to hospitals; the current mortality rate is one per cent, while the other children have defaulted from the programme.

“We must scale-up CMAM in Nigeria. It is a proven high-impact intervention that is saving lives and is helping Nigerian children reach their full potential through a good start in life.”

“We need greater investment in Nigeria’s future by investing in good nutrition.”

This came as UNICEF and the Nigerian government announced that “they have reached more than a million Nigerian children with a highly successful and cost-effective treatment for acutely malnorishment, saving over 200,000 lives in the past six years.”

The cost for CMAM is just US$160 for each child treated, including $76 for the RUTF; the remaining $84 covers all other costs, including staff time and training, transport and storage of supplies, and basic medicines. UNICEF and the government of Nigeria are scaling up the CMAM response and UNICEF is advocating an increased investment in CMAM from both the government of Nigeria and external donors.

Over the years since its introduction in 2009, financial support for the programme has been provided by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the Department for International Development (DFID), EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), the European Union(EU), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA).

Speaking on the report, UNICEF Chief of Nutrition, Arjan de Wagt, said about 10 per cent of global malnutrition population is in Nigeria.

Wagt explained that 11 northern states are worst hit and they include Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Linus Awute, said: “The government of Nigeria is committed to reaching more children with CMAM.

“We cannot accept to see Nigerian children continue to die of malnutrition and that our potential future leaders should be diminished by its effects.”

Meanwhile, officials

of the ministry took a swipe at states denying the existence of malnutrition among children.

They maintained that malnutrition in the 11 states had become obvious, stressing that it is futile to live in denials.