Not less than 7.3 million adolescent girls and women of reproductive age in Nigeria are undernourished, putting women and new-born babies at risk, a report by the United States Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed.
The report entitled: “Undernourished and Overlooked: A Global Nutrition Crisis in Adolescent Girls and Women” released ahead of the 2023 International Women’s Day, warned that the ongoing crises, aggravated by unending gender inequality, were deepening a nutrition crisis among adolescent girls and women that had already shown little improvement in the last two decades.
It revealed that the number of adolescent girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who are undernourished soared from 5.6 million in 2018 to 7.3 million in 2021 in Nigeria, adding that the country is among the 12 hardest hit countries by the global food and nutrition crisis, while alerting that the situation is putting women and newborn babies at risk.
Nigeria, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen, represent the epicentre of a global nutrition crisis that has been increased by recent impacts of COVID-19 and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and ongoing drought, conflict, and instability in some countries.
Commenting on the report, UNICEF’s executive director, Catherine Russell, said: “This nutrition crisis is pushing millions of mothers and their children into hunger and severe malnutrition.
“Without urgent action from the international community, the consequences could last for generations to come.”
The report averred that more than one billion adolescent girls and women suffer from undernutrition (including underweight and short height), deficiencies in essential micronutrients, and anaemia, with devastating consequences for their lives and wellbeing.
“In Nigeria, 55 per cent of adolescent girls and women suffer from anaemia while nearly half of the Nigerian women of reproductive age do not consume the recommended diet of at least five out of 10 food groups (grains and tubers, pulses, nuts and seeds, dairy, meat, poultry and fish, eggs, dark green leafy vegetables, other vitamin A rich fruits and vegetables, other vegetables and other fruits) according to the 2022 National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey,” it added.
Inadequate nutrition during girls’ and women’s lives can lead to weakened immunity, poor cognitive development, and an increased risk of life-threatening complications – including during pregnancy and childbirth – risking mother’s lives, also, with dangerous and irreversible consequences for their children’s survival, growth, learning, and future earning capacity.
In Nigeria for instance,.12 million children under 5 are stunted, meaning they are too short for their age due to malnutrition. Of those, about half become stunted during pregnancy and the first six months of life, the 500-day period when a child is fully dependent on maternal nutrition, according to a new analysis in the report.”
UNICEF Nigeria country representative, Cristian Munduate, said: “To ensure a better future for our children, we must prioritize the access of adolescent girls and women to nutritious food and essential nutrition services.
“The nutrition crisis is deepening among them, and urgent action is needed from all partners including the government of Nigeria and the international community. We cannot afford to overlook this crisis, and we must work together to transform food, health and social protection systems for adolescent girls and women.”
Global crises continue to disrupt women’s access to nutritious food disproportionately. In 2021, there were 126 million more food-insecure women than men, compared to 49 million more in 2019, more than doubling the gender gap of food insecurity.
Since last year, UNICEF has scaled up its efforts in the countries hardest hit by the global nutrition crisis, including Nigeria.
The report, however, called on governments, development and humanitarian partners and donors, civil society organisations and development actors to transform food, health and social protection systems for adolescent girls and women by prioritising adolescent girls’ and women’s access to nutritious, safe and affordable diets, and protecting adolescent girls and women from ultra-processed foods through marketing restrictions, compulsory front-of-pack labelling and taxation among others.
Nigeria’s 7.3m Young Girls, Women Undernourished – Report
By Royal Ibeh
Not less than 7.3 million adolescent girls and women of reproductive age in Nigeria are undernourished, putting women and new-born babies at risk, a report by the United States Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed.
The report entitled: “Undernourished and Overlooked: A Global Nutrition Crisis in Adolescent Girls and Women” released ahead of the 2023 International Women’s Day, warned that the ongoing crises, aggravated by unending gender inequality, were deepening a nutrition crisis among adolescent girls and women that had already shown little improvement in the last two decades.
It revealed that the number of adolescent girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who are undernourished soared from 5.6 million in 2018 to 7.3 million in 2021 in Nigeria, adding that the country is among the 12 hardest hit countries by the global food and nutrition crisis, while alerting that the situation is putting women and newborn babies at risk.
Nigeria, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen, represent the epicentre of a global nutrition crisis that has been increased by recent impacts of COVID-19 and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and ongoing drought, conflict, and instability in some countries.
Commenting on the report, UNICEF’s executive director, Catherine Russell, said: “This nutrition crisis is pushing millions of mothers and their children into hunger and severe malnutrition.
“Without urgent action from the international community, the consequences could last for generations to come.”
The report averred that more than one billion adolescent girls and women suffer from undernutrition (including underweight and short height), deficiencies in essential micronutrients, and anaemia, with devastating consequences for their lives and wellbeing.
“In Nigeria, 55 per cent of adolescent girls and women suffer from anaemia while nearly half of the Nigerian women of reproductive age do not consume the recommended diet of at least five out of 10 food groups (grains and tubers, pulses, nuts and seeds, dairy, meat, poultry and fish, eggs, dark green leafy vegetables, other vitamin A rich fruits and vegetables, other vegetables and other fruits) according to the 2022 National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey,” it added.
Inadequate nutrition during girls’ and women’s lives can lead to weakened immunity, poor cognitive development, and an increased risk of life-threatening complications – including during pregnancy and childbirth – risking mother’s lives, also, with dangerous and irreversible consequences for their children’s survival, growth, learning, and future earning capacity.
In Nigeria for instance,.12 million children under 5 are stunted, meaning they are too short for their age due to malnutrition. Of those, about half become stunted during pregnancy and the first six months of life, the 500-day period when a child is fully dependent on maternal nutrition, according to a new analysis in the report.”
UNICEF Nigeria country representative, Cristian Munduate, said: “To ensure a better future for our children, we must prioritize the access of adolescent girls and women to nutritious food and essential nutrition services.
“The nutrition crisis is deepening among them, and urgent action is needed from all partners including the government of Nigeria and the international community. We cannot afford to overlook this crisis, and we must work together to transform food, health and social protection systems for adolescent girls and women.”
Global crises continue to disrupt women’s access to nutritious food disproportionately. In 2021, there were 126 million more food-insecure women than men, compared to 49 million more in 2019, more than doubling the gender gap of food insecurity.
Since last year, UNICEF has scaled up its efforts in the countries hardest hit by the global nutrition crisis, including Nigeria.
The report, however, called on governments, development and humanitarian partners and donors, civil society organisations and development actors to transform food, health and social protection systems for adolescent girls and women by prioritising adolescent girls’ and women’s access to nutritious, safe and affordable diets, and protecting adolescent girls and women from ultra-processed foods through marketing restrictions, compulsory front-of-pack labelling and taxation among others.
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