Nigeria: Two Million Children Malnourished, Second Highest Rate of Stunted Growth Globally — UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund reports that Nigeria carries the heaviest load of undernourished children across the African continent.

The global organization announced this on their website on Tuesday, noting that merely 20% of the children impacted currently receive proper treatment.

It said with an estimated two million children in Nigeria suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the world’s most populous Black nation has the second-highest number of stunted children in the world.

Nigeria bears the second-highest burden of stunted children globally, with a nationwide prevalence rate of 32 percent among children under five years old.

Approximately two million children in Nigeria are afflicted with severe acute malnutrition (SAM); however, only one in five affected children receives necessary treatment.

"Acute malnutrition affects seven percent of women who are of childbearing age," the report stated.

According to Channels Television, UNICEF stated that malnutrition contributes directly or indirectly to 45 percent of fatalities among children below five years old.

The data indicated that exclusive breastfeeding rates remained largely unchanged over the last ten years, with just 17 percent of infants receiving only breast milk during their initial half-year period.

“Just 18 percent of children aged six to 23 months are fed the minimum acceptable diet,” it added.

It further explained that states in northern Nigeria were the most affected by the two forms of malnutrition—stunting and wasting.

It also said that high rates of malnutrition posed significant public health and development challenges for the country.

UNICEF added, “Stunting, in addition to an increased risk of death, is also linked to poor cognitive development, a lowered performance in education and low productivity in adulthood—all contributing to economic losses estimated to account for as much as 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Our objective is to guarantee that women, children, and adolescents, especially those living in disadvantaged and fragile regions, have enhanced access to and utilization of high-quality services and information aimed at preventing and treating malnutrition, even during emergency situations.

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