4.3 Million Nigerians Face Hunger, Malnutrition In North East – UN

According to Matthias Schmale, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, approximately 4.3 million Nigerians are suffering from extreme hunger and malnutrition in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states.

In a statement posted on the UN website, he said the number of children under the age of five at risk of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition has doubled in a year to 700,000.

He stated that millions of people in the region are facing starvation, and children’s lives are at risk as a result of a protracted conflict and worsening climate change.

Describing the situation in the region, Schmale said, “I have been to Borno and the other two states several times, I have seen mothers fighting for the lives of their malnourished children in nutrition stabilization centers.

“The children he spoke to complained about being hungry for days. Those of us who are parents must imagine what it’s like when you cannot ensure your children have enough to eat.”

The “catastrophic” condition, he claims, is mostly the result of more than a decade of instability tied to non-state armed organizations, which hinders people from cultivating and generating an income from the land.

He also mentioned climate change and extreme weather impacts, noting that 2022 witnessed the worst floods in Nigeria in ten years, affecting more than 4.4 million people across the country, not just the Northeast.

Soaring food, fuel, and fertilizer prices have compounded the issue, he added, and the response remains severely underfunded.

According to the UN official, barely 25% of the $1.3 billion in humanitarian financing required for the region has been acquired.

According to the UN official, barely 25% of the $1.3 billion in humanitarian financing required for the region has been acquired.

Recently, the prices of key foodstuffs and other vital products in Nigeria began to rise in response to the increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, better known as petrol, following President Bola Tinubu’s pronouncement that the period of subsidy on the commodity is over.

Tinubu declared during his inaugural speech at Eagle Square in Abuja that the age of gasoline subsidy payments had finished and that with no provision for it in the 2023 budget, continued subsidy payments were no longer justifiable.

He went on to say that his administration would instead invest in infrastructure and other areas to help the economy.

Nwabumma Asouzu, a licensed dietician-nutritionist at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, stated malnutrition had hidden dangers for children’s well-being and survival.

Malnutrition, according to the nutrition specialist, inhibits wound healing and delays the recovery of children suffering from infections, in addition to making them more prone to diseases and infections.

According to Asouzu, malnutrition is a critical public health concern that causes stunting in children, and stunting is a major contributor to child morbidity and mortality.

She warned against ignoring the consequences of malnutrition in children as a statement by the United Nations agencies affirmed that Nigeria and 14 other countries were home to 30 million malnourished children.

Speaking on the issue, Asouzu gave insight into the health and economic implications of malnutrition, saying, “Poverty amplifies the risk of, and risks from malnutrition. Poor people are more likely to be affected by different forms of malnutrition.

“Also, malnutrition increases health care costs, reduces productivity, and slows economic growth, which can perpetuate a cycle of poverty and ill health.

“Childhood malnutrition, including overnutrition, increases a child’s susceptibility to several different infections and often delays recovery from these infections, thus posing a large burden of disease in developing countries.

“Malnutrition, in all its forms, includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight, obesity, and resulting in diet-related noncommunicable diseases.”

Asouzu went on to say that household income remains a crucial factor in determining both childhood health and nutrition, adding that malnutrition mostly occurs in low- and middle-income countries.

“Globally in 2020, 149 million children under five were estimated to be stunted (too short for age), 45 million were estimated to be wasted (too thin for height), and 38.9 million were overweight or obese.

“Around 45 percent of deaths among children under five years of age are linked to undernutrition. These mostly occur in low- and middle-income countries,” the dietician added.

Further highlighting the consequences of poor nutrition, which he said are enormous, Asouzu noted that children who are malnourished would be stunted and underweight.

“These are serious forms of malnutrition. It can affect the cognitive development of a child and the child will not be smart. Stunting is an enormous drain on economic productivity and growth,” she said.

The dietician said currently, Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 percent of children under five.