NGO raises alarm over high rate of malnutrition among children in Nigeria

A None Governmental Organization, Accelerating Nutrition Result in Nigeria, ARIN, has raised concern over the high rate of malnutrition among Children in Nigeria.

Our Kogi State Correspondent, reports that Bolarinwa Oladele, Project Manager of ARIN, who disclosed this on Thursday January 20 in Lokoja, at the opening ceremony of a three day training programme on complementary feeding noted that, one out of every nine person in Nigeria suffers from malnutrition.

While lamenting that States such as Kano, Kaduna has the larger share of this problem, Oladele said Nigeria is far from meeting the malnutrition target of 2025.

According to him, 54 percent of under five death is caused by malnutrition globally.

The nutritionist traced some deaths recorded in the country to malnutrition, stressing that, the organization is currently managing a project worth millions of dollar to fight malnutrition across the country.

He explained further that, about twelve states are participating in the program as they are currently accessing N12.2million dollars towards ensuring that citizens get the necessary nutrients for consumption.

The Project Manager, emphasized that, the programme is for women and children adding that, there are some States who had not shown keen interest toward addressing the problem of malnutrition among their residents.

He however commended Governor Yahaya Bello for his magnanimity to access world bank lone of 12.6million dollar for the purpose of improving the nutrition indices of children and mothers in Kogi State.

He said "The project started and became effective in 2021 to improve the nutrition indices in the State. Africa Youth Growth foundation and Save the Children International are the two none state actors in this project. Save the Children is in charge of the Central and Western Senatorial District. 

"The nutrition indices in Kogi State has improved by 22.7 percent. And we are working tirelessly to ensure that we achieve more results. Comparing Kogi State in the national level and the North Central zone, Kogi is looking good. 

"But the figure is not still good enough. That is why the state decided that something must be done for malnutrition to reduce. We must reduce under age death, malnutrition must leave the state, nutrition status must improve and people must be able to exclusively breastfeed their Children.

"Right now, AYGF is giving nutrition intervention in about seven areas. We are giving Vitamin A supplementation, zinc, ORS, Iron and folic acid to Women of Child bearing age. We are giving micro-nutrient powder to Children under two years to prevent malnutrition. We are doing everything we could do to make sure nutrition indices is improved in Kogi State".

He identified ignorance and poverty as some of the factors that causes malnutrition adding that, when people are aware of what they are taking, their growth will improve. 

"What we have come here to do today is to look at locally available food, study their micro nutrient content to be able to mix them together and fortify local food in such a way that they will not diminish in nutritional content and they will be able to enrich the nutritional status of Women and Children in the State" Oladele added.

In his submission, a nutritionist specialist with AYGF John Tsebam said the organization is coming up with a product that Women in the State will be able that will help to improve their children health wise using the locally available food. 

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