With over 10 million children said to be malnourished in Nigeria, out of which 3.5 million fall under the acute malnutrition category, and over 400,000 in life-threatening situations, the Health Emergency Initiative (HEI) and Cardgoal have launched a nutrition programme aimed at providing therapeutic nutrition recovery for thousands of children in Lagos and beyond.
The initiative has received the backing of the Lagos State government.
The programme unveiled on Tuesday in Ikeja, Lagos, is expected to tackle acute malnutrition among vulnerable children by providing therapeutic food supplies, continuous medical monitoring, caregiver education, and vocational support for mothers with low incomes.
At the launch, which drew children from eight local government and local council development areas within the Ikeja Division of Lagos, Olufemi Omololu, permanent secretary, Lagos State Health District VI, decried Nigeria’s malnutrition ranking.
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According to the PS, Nigeria is placed second globally in malnutrition ranking, describing it as a disturbing development.
“We need to address this. The programme seeks to identify malnourished children, provide supplementation, empower mothers, and monitor results,” Omololu said, just as he emphasised the need for both male and female parents to support the programme.
Pascal Achunine, executive director, HEI, noted Nigeria’s nutrition presents a disturbing picture and, therefore, requires urgent attention if millions of children are to be saved.
“Nigeria has over 10 million malnourished children. Out of that, 3.5 million face severe acute malnutrition, and over 400,000 are in life-threatening situations,” he said.
“The implications of malnutrition in a child include stunted growth, which affects cognitive and brain development. A malnourished child is exposed to a low IQ. It affects their organs and has genetic effects,” said Achunine.
Also speaking, Stephen Anyakuam, the representative of Cardgoal, described the firm’s involvement as a social responsibility.
“You have done business in a place and made money: It is only fair to give back,” Anyakuama, who called on parents to strive to give their children the best. “Put in effort; let it not be that you did not try,” he said.
Folashade Tawak, medical officer, Lagos State Health District VI, stressed the need to tackle malnutrition in children within their first 1,000 days of life.
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“Nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life is key. One thousand days means the first five years of a child’s life. If we are not paying keen attention to what goes into their mouths, we can be causing problems that cannot be corrected later in life. Whatever we feed them now literally affects their brain development,” she explained.
Adesiji Omolola, a beneficiary of the initiative, lauded the organisers, saying: “We’ve learnt that even with N1,500 or N2,000 we can still make nutritious meals for our children.”
Chineye Mensah, another beneficiary, said, “My child was once a victim of malnutrition. If I didn’t speak out, she wouldn’t have improved. I thank Lagos State, Cardgoal, and HEI for the initiative.”
The beneficiaries have begun a 90-day therapeutic nutrition recovery programme following the flag-off of the gifted health nutrition programme
