•Says preventing stunting will save Nigeria $20b yearly
Federal Ministry of Health has lamented and described disturbing and unfavourable the data on malnutrition rate in Nigeria, saying it sparks fear about the survival of children under the age of five.

Nigeria is projected to have a population of 214 million based on a yearly population growth rate of 2.6 per cent, while children under the age of five make up 19 per cent of the country’s population. Under-five Mortality (UFM) rate is 110/1,000 live births; Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is 63/1,000 live births; while Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) is 41/1000 live births.

Worried by the alarming number, the Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Nutrition International, organised a two-day conference on Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) summit in Ikeja, Lagos. The conference, held at the weekend, was aimed at addressing the challenges of managing childhood illnesses, reviewing health delivery systems, strengthening disease prevention and control processes, and proposing data-driven monitoring systems to improve childhood health outcomes across the country.

No fewer than 15 states, including Cross River, Lagos, Katsina, Anambra, Ondo, Kano, FCT, and others were present at the workshop.

Presentation by the states showed a deep lack of political will or understanding by state governments. The states’ presentation pointed out that little attention was paid to IMCI.

Speaking with The Guardian, the Head, Child Survival Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Omokore Oluseyi, said that in Nigeria, malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea were the three major causes of under-five mortalities with a background component of malnutrition.

He said that 50 per cent of children, who died at the facility were malnourished, explaining that when children were malnourished, the probability of dying from child killer diseases increases.

Country Director, Nutrition International, Dr Osita Okonkwo, said: “118 out of 1,000 children die yearly so, we are working to make sure that by 2030, not up to 25 children will die out of 1,000. Every child in Nigeria must be nutritiously healthy and be able to achieve their full life potential.

Also, Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Adedeji Onayade, said: “We are not likely to get out of this if families do not have the wherewithal to care for their children adequately if mothers are not empowered to care for their babies properly, if they do not have the required information on where to seek appropriate care, particularly during pregnancy, we will have this same situation increasing.

“If you look at the disaggregated data, most of these deaths affect some particular subgroup of the population. Why we have not been able to reach those people becomes the question, because if we know when the deaths occur in the first few days of life, and then the first year of life.

There is no money for those people to care appropriately for their children, even accessing health facilities is an issue, because we need money to pay for care. Unfortunately, we have national and state health insurance companies, but I don’t think we are utilising them optimally.”