Nigeria Tops Global Charts For Most Undernourished Children – UNICEF
Undernourished children
New data reveals Nigeria hosts World’s largest group of persistently malnourished children, with 11 million suffering from stunted growth.
Recent figures highlight Bauchi’s significant role in high malnutrition rates: Stunting at 46%, wasting at 9.5%, and underweight at 28.2%, based on NDHIS 2018 data.
UNICEF Nutrition Facilitator Jessica Bartholomew Emphasizes: Investing in nutrition key for optimal human capital development in nations.
Addressing a two-day state committee on Food and Nutrition Gathering in Plateau State, Jessica Bartholomew highlights the vital role of nutrition in human capital development.
It was to build the capacity of members of the Bauchi State Committee on Food and Nutrition on basic nutrition package development activity, work plan and operationalization of performance management system.
Jessica Bartholomew added that as a Committee with the mandate to coordinate nutrition activities in the state, there is a need to make the government realize the need to address nutrition which is of critical importance for achieving SDGs, especially, goals related to hunger, child and maternal health and education.
The facilitator also noted that the government needs to invest in interventions as childhood stunting is estimated to reduce at least 10% of potential life savings, stressing that, “According to World Bank estimation, increasing in nutrition can increase a country’s gross domestic product by at least 3% annually.”
In his remarks, Nutrition Officer, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr Martins Jacksons emphasized the need for sustained awareness of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of a child’s life to address malnutrition.
“UNICEF is counting on your commitment to change the narrative on issues of nutrition in Bauchi State, we shall continue to give you the necessary support.”
Secretary of Bauchi State Committee on Food and Nutrition, Usman Muhammad said that the capacity building on basic nutrition concepts, nutrition-sensitive, nutrition-specific interventions and performance management system aims to enhance the effectiveness, knowledge, skills and practices of the committee in addressing malnutrition and promote optimal nutritional health across the State.
He stressed that the specific objective is to also develop and implement a performance management system.
While giving an overview of the nutrition situation in Bauchi State, State Nutrition Officer, Abubakar Saleh said that the state in the first quarter of 2024 had admitted 4,384 children with severe acute malnutrition across 14 integrated management of acute malnutrition (IMAM) centres.
Of these number, only 451 have completed treatment while the state recorded four deaths, “The state commenced treatment in February 2024 when we took delivery of 17.000 cartoons of RUTF from USAID.”
