A fresh report released by the UNICEF and the federal government in Abuja on Monday, August 17, indicated that over 1.7 million Nigerian children are severely malnourished and in dire of prompt services to curtail the menace.
Over 1.7 million children in Nigeria are malnourished.
UNICEF country representative, Jean Gough said: “There are approximately 1.7 million severely acutely malnourished children under five in Nigeria – accounting for a tenth of the global total.”
Gough said: “Nearly a thousand Nigerian children die of malnutrition-related causes every day – a total of 361,000 each year. Acute malnutrition also leads to stunting of children causing life-long physical limitations and can reduce intellectual capacity.”
She observed that “community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) was piloted in Gombe and Kebbi States in 2009 and has now been introduced in 11 northern Nigerian states where malnutrition poses the greatest threat.”
The government of Nigeria said that it had reached more than a million Nigerian children with a highly successful and cost-effective treatment for acutely malnourished kids, saving over 200,000 lives in the past six years.
A programme called Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) was piloted in Gombe and Kebbi states in 2009 and has now been introduced in 11 northern Nigerian states, where malnutrition poses the greatest threat.
CMAM is aimed at treating acutely malnourished children from six months to five-years-old on an out-patient basis. More than 830,000 children have been cured in the programme with the cure rate rising steadily – currently standing at 85%. Of the remaining children, about 2% do not respond to treatment and are referred to hospitals; the current mortality rate is just 1%, while the other children have defaulted from the programme.
During weekly appointments, CMAM is carried out over approximately eight weeks at primary health care centres. It includes education of parents and caregivers on nutrition, the importance of continuing breast-feeding and the role of hand-washing and hygiene. The nutrition status of the children is assessed during the CMAM sessions and children are given a health screening; if necessary, they are also treated for other illnesses.
The children are given highly nutritious Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) during the sessions. Mothers and caregivers are provided with supplies of RUTF to feed the children at home.
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