•Poor nutrition stunts 58.2% in Northwest as WASPEN flags hospitals’ malnutrition care

With an estimated 58 per cent of children under five in North-West Nigeria stunted by malnutrition, stakeholders have called for the positioning of nutrition as a central pillar of Nigeria’s development agenda and be integrated into national planning and budgeting.

Speaking in Lagos at the opening of the 56th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), Vice President Kashim Shettima stressed the need for stronger coordination across sectors and levels of government.

Shettima, represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Health and Focal Person on Nutrition, Mrs Uju Rochas-Anwukah, said Nigeria’s nutrition problems are interconnected and require interventions across different life stages and sectors.

Similarly, the Chairman of the NSN Board of Trustees and Emir of Kano, Khalifia Sanusi II, called for a stronger National Council on Nutrition and coordinated policy action to stem the trend.He urged the government to increase and protect nutrition financing, strengthen accountability and integrate nutrition into national development planning and budgeting.

Sanusi said the Nigeria Mini Demographic and Health Survey 2025-26 showed that 41.1 per cent of Nigerian children under five were stunted, with 19.2 per cent severely stunted, while the prevalence of stunting reached 58.2 per cent in the Northwest.

He further disclosed that only 25.3 per cent of children under five received any iron-containing supplements in the preceding year, adding that the figures underscored the need for urgent and targeted interventions, particularly in states and regions with the highest malnutrition burden.

On its part, the NSN has warned that about 36 million Nigerians are projected to face acute food insecurity during this year’s lean season, which could further fuel child malnutrition, with 41.1 per cent of children under five already stunted.

Speaking on the theme of the conference, “Delivering Better Nutrition for All: Connecting the Dots Across Life Cycle, Systems, and Sectors,” NSN President, Prof. Salisu Abubakar, said the projected figure, contained in the latest Cadre Harmonisé food security analysis, was the highest recorded in Nigeria and was driven overwhelmingly by conflict.

According to him, Nigeria has continued to face malnutrition in all forms, including micronutrient deficiencies, particularly of vitamin A, zinc and folic acid.

Meanwhile, the West African Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (WASPEN) has called for greater attention to clinical nutrition and nutrition care in Nigerian hospitals, warning that malnutrition is not limited to food insecurity and community health.

Addressing the media virtually ahead of the 2026 Malnutrition Awareness Week schedule for September 22 and 24, the President and Founder of WASPEN, Dr Teresa Isichei Pounds, urged stakeholders to continue strengthening nutrition in communities.

Protecting mothers and children during the first 1,000 days, and addressing food and micronutrient insecurity.