The Federal Government has revealed that more than four million children in Nigeria’s Northeast and Northwest regions are suffering from malnutrition.
This was disclosed by Mrs. Ladidi Bako-Aiyebusi, Director of the Nutrition Department at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, during a five-day meeting held in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
The event, organized in collaboration with Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) and other partners, focuses on developing strategic advocacy policies for addressing nutrition challenges in the country.
The ongoing meeting, which began on Tuesday and will conclude on Saturday, brings together nutrition experts, academics, and representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
In her opening remarks, Bako-Aiyebusi emphasized that the meeting aims to establish policy directions to tackle nutrition-related issues in Nigeria.
She highlighted that the country is currently grappling with a severe “triple burden” of malnutrition, which includes widespread deficiencies in macro and micronutrients, undernutrition, and overnutrition—each with significant implications for public health and socio-economic development.
Citing the 2021 National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey, Bako-Aiyebusi noted that nearly 4.4 million children in the Northeast and Northwest are affected by malnutrition.
The root causes include limited access to food, poor dietary habits, inadequate feeding and caregiving practices, economic and political challenges, low economic status, inadequate health-seeking behaviors, and low levels of education.
