Experts Brainstorm On Closing Nutrition Gap In West Africa

As part of efforts to ensure access to nutritious diets, stakeholders in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have brainstormed on closing nutrition gaps in the region.

The director and head of nutrition, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Binyerem Ukaire, who spoke at the 17th ECOWAS Nutrition Forum, themed: “Leveraging Sustainable Financing for Multisectoral Approaches: Accelerate Universal Access to Nutritious, Safe, Affordable and Sustainable Diets,” noted that a gap has been recorded on nutrition, thus the need for urgent action.

She said, “Zeroing down to the ECOWAS sub region, West Africa, a gap is noticed or has been recorded on nutrition, adequate nutrition for the entire populace. We are not meeting up, the statistics are showing that there is Anemia in children and women. There is stunting, there is wasting, and all others, evidence by undernutrition or overnutrition as well as micro nutrition deficiency.

“These have been recorded and the indices are not good, and you know that globally, for these countries to be able to be placed in a good place in the global community, they have to meet up with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals are set for countries to ensure that they are influenced and they are motivated and they are put into action.”

The regional adviser, Nutrition and Food Safety, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Laetitia Ouedraogo – Nikiema, stressed the need for the region to protect and promote diets, services and practices that support optimal nutrition, growth and development for all children, adolescents and women.

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She called for action on the food system to tackle the root causes of malnutrition in the region, while identifying the food systems as key drivers of malnutrition.

Also at the forum, the EU-Joint research center scientific officer, Ms Roos Verstraeten, said that malnutrition is multi-causal, urging that adequate response must be a coordinated multi-sectoral approach that includes mainstreaming nutrition across diverse policy areas.

According to her, a comprehensive and coherent set of actions, programmes, and policies addressing both underlying and immediate causes of malnutrition are necessary to achieve global nutrition agendas.

On the expected outcome of the forums, the nutrition lead, West Africa Health Organisation (WAHO), Dr Namoudou Keita, said the region is discussing intersectionality to eradicate malnutrition.

“The 17 ECOWAS Nutrition Forum aimed to address the region’s key nutrition challenges by accelerating the eradication of hunger, increasing political commitment and investment in food security and better coordinating nutrition interventions at all levels,” he said.