1.7 Million Nigeria Children Severely Malnourised

Paul Obi in Abuja

A new report released by UNICEF and the federal government yesterday in Abuja indicated that about 1.7 million Nigerian children are severely malnourished and in dire of prompt services to curtail the menace.


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.

"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," Gough said.

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.