According to the, the majority of Nigeria is facing food security challenges. Some places are under a state of emergency, while parts of the country's north-eastern region are experiencing famine.
It is impossible to overstate the relevance of food security to public health. The World Health Organization's concept of Public Health, which is defined as "a condition of total physical, mental, and social well-being, not only the absence of sickness or infirmity," has numerous components.
The majority of Nigeria's health expenditure is spent on treating or preventing sickness. The national hospital and clinical care system, which consumes the majority of the national health-care budget, is included in this category. We may also cheer since a new Malaria vaccine is presently under manufacturing.
While these programs are unquestionably important, the role of early childhood nutrition is sometimes underestimated. Such nutrition is required to ensure that the human capital required to labor and develop national resources is available. The government's primary responsibility is to ensure that its citizens are fed. This corresponds to food security, or a country's capacity to provide a sufficient food supply to its citizens.
Good nutrition is especially important for children under the age of six. In this fashion, the importance of nutrition in early childhood development is summarized.
"The first two or three years of a child's existence are critical for appropriate physical and mental development. However, present feeding methods in certain nations may be causing more damage than benefit to early children's growth. Children under the age of three are particularly sensitive to malnutrition; their growth rate is faster than at any other stage, increasing the risk of growth retardation. Furthermore, at this age, the immune system is not completely developed, posing a danger of frequent and serious illnesses. The roots of intellectual, social, and emotional abilities are also built during this era, since both cognitive and emotional potentials begin to develop early. In summary, inadequate nutrition in childhood causes serious difficulties such as delayed motor and cognitive development, behavioural issues, poor social skills, a shorter attention span, learning impairments, and inferior scholastic attainment. Feeding and Nutrition of Infants and Young Children, WHO 2003 (Fleischer-Michaelsen et al.)
Clearly, there is a lot on the line: if young children are to grow up to be effective adults, they must eat well. The scientific data has been evident for a long time.
Any country's first priority should be to solve the problem of early childhood nutrition. What is Nigeria's current food security status, and what can be done to improve it?
For more than two decades, USAID's Famine Early Warning System (FEWSNET) has been monitoring food production and security in Nigeria. The current situation, according to their statistics, is terrible.
While survey data is needed to acquire specific estimates of stunted children in these regions, it is certain that severe malnutrition might reach as high as 15% of the population in famine zones, according to their most recent overview of the situation, released in September 2021 (figure one). Mild to severe malnutrition affects larger groups of people. The human and financial implications of high levels of malnutrition on the development of a healthy population are tremendous. Children are, after all, Nigeria's future.
Figure 1: Nigerian food security as of September 2021
Nigerian FEWSNET Report
What options do we have?
First and foremost, Nigeria and the international community should offer emergency food aid to famine-stricken and highly pressured communities. This accounts for nearly two-thirds of the country's total area.
Second, a national nutritional surveillance system should be strengthened and combined with international data sources to identify at-risk areas and give prompt help before famine occurs.
Finally, public health interventions should include a development approach that targets food production in places where there is a chronic shortfall. Nigeria would not be able to provide enough food to its inhabitants, which is a basic prerequisite for excellent public health. All development goals are compromised without good public health.
Author Information: Dr. Bertrand, the Wisner-Chair holder, was Vice President of Institutional Planning, Research, and Innovation at Tulane University, where he also served as Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Founding Chair of the Department of International Health, and Executive Director of the Payson Center.
