Public health experts have urged the Federal Government to increase investment in early childhood development (ECD), particularly childhood nutrition and breastfeeding, warning that poor nutrition and a high stunting rate could undermine Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy.

 

A coalition of public health experts, in a joint press release issued to mark World Breastfeeding Week, said Nigeria’s failure to adequately protect and support breastfeeding contributes to an estimated $12 billion to $21 billion in future economic losses and about 103,742 child deaths annually.

The experts raised concerns over Nigeria’s low rate of exclusive breastfeeding and the long-term economic consequences of inadequate investment in the first 2,000 days of a child’s life.

They noted that only 29 per cent of Nigerian infants below six months are exclusively breastfed, while the average duration of exclusive breastfeeding is 2.8 months.

According to the experts, poor nutrition during the first 2,000 days, including failure to initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, increases children’s vulnerability to stunting, wasting, poor brain and physical development and learning difficulties.

They added that Nigeria’s stunting rate has remained between 37 and 40 per cent for about two decades, affecting four in 10 children under five and costing the economy an estimated $4 billion to $6 billion annually.

Enene Ejembi of Verbatim Virtual Solutions said investment in young mothers and support for breastfeeding would strengthen Nigeria’s human capital, workforce productivity and long-term economic growth.

Dr Amenze Eguavoen of Lluvia Health Organisation said breastfeeding could not be addressed in isolation, as mothers require knowledge, support, enabling environments and responsive health systems to breastfeed successfully.

The experts identified fragmented government interventions as a major challenge to achieving better ECD outcomes, noting that responsibilities are spread across ministries and agencies, resulting in disconnected policies and programmes.

To address the gaps, they called for the establishment of a multi-sectoral ECD council with budgetary authority to coordinate spending across ministries.

They also advocated results-based financing that links funding to measurable outcomes across nutrition, early learning, health and child safety, rather than financing programmes separately.

The experts further called for adequate paid maternity leave, workplace breastfeeding support and maternal education to enable women to continue breastfeeding after childbirth.

They said breastfeeding remains one of the most important interventions for infant survival globally and could prevent nearly 823,000 infant deaths annually.

The experts said increased investment in ECD would support the Nurturing Care Framework, which brings together nutrition, health, responsive caregiving, security and early learning as essential components of child development.