11m Nigerian children are stunted – FG

Thirty-two percent of Nigerian children representing 11 million have been alleged to have stunted growth due to lack of proper nutrition.
The Nutrition Indices of 2015 revealed that 20 per cent of child mortality can be averted, if mothers adhere strictly to breast-feeding of their babies in the first six months after birth.

The Head of Nutrition, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Chris Ose Isokpunwu, who made the disclosure at a one-day Advocacy/Sentisation Meeting for Policy Makers and Nutrition Stakeholders to Scale up Nutrition in Niger State, said that aside from 32 per cent stunted children, 7.2 per cent were wasted, while 18.6 per cent were under-weight.

Speaking on the theme, “Implementation of National Strategic Plan Action Nutrition; Cost Implication to Nigeria and Niger State”, Isokpunwu, said that to adequately improve upon nutrition status of the people and enhance productivity, government, at all levels, should come up with an action plan to address the situation.

According to him, with N182.4 billion, stunting would be averted by 890, 000 children in the country, while Niger State would require N2.8 billion spread over five years, estimated at N600 million every year.


Also, the wife of the Niger State Governor, Dr. Amina Sani Bello, in her address, said that the major cause of stunting in children was a refusal by mothers to go into exclusive breast-feeding, saying that survey had also known that 30 per cent women in the state no longer breast-feed their babies.
Decrying the 11 million cases of stunting in Nigeria, she said that by the figure, the country had the second highest in Africa and the world, presently.

Bello urged the Niger State Government to adopt the National Strategic Action Plan on Nutrition to help in tackling the issue of poor nutrition, especially among children in the state.
The representative of UNICEF, Mrs. Florence Oni, stated that Niger State had a serious challenge of nutrition, with more than 30 per cent of the children wasted and stunted, warning that the situation would worsen, if action was taken to tackle it.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jibrin Mustaph, said the government was looking seriously into the issue of nutrition and how to tackle it, especially among the communities.