Nigeria’s Child Malnutrition Crisis

Recently, Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, flagged off the National Community Food Bank Programme as part of efforts to combat child malnutrition and strengthen nutrition support for vulnerable families across the country.

Mrs Tinubu who described child malnutrition as a critical challenge that required collective national action, said the programme, which will be rolled out nationwide in April this year, was designed to improve access to safe and nutritious food for vulnerable children, particularly those under the age of six.

According to her, the initiative will operate through the nationwide network of Primary Health Centres, where eligible families will be identified and registered.

She explained that caregivers will receive counselling and food vouchers redeemable for locally grown nutritious foods at designated food banks established close to the health centres.

At the health summit which hosted traditional and religious leaders, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, said nearly 40 per cent of Nigerian children suffer stunted growth, noting that malnutrition often begins before birth.

He said that poor maternal nutrition increases the risk of early childhood death, weak learning outcomes and long-term developmental challenges.

As a newspaper, we believe that the fight against child malnutrition in Nigeria has become a protracted one which  resonates every first week of August every year when Exclusive Breastfeeding week is marked globally.

Ever before the security challenge, even while the country was having food surplus, child malnutrition was still an issue.

We recall during the period which is more than a decade ago, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with the federal government was using Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a nutrient-dense, peanut-based paste designed for treating severe acute malnutrition (SAM) at home, in the northern part of the country.

As of August 2025, Nigeria’s exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rate remains at approximately 29 per cent, falling significantly short of the 50 per cent target set for 2025 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the federal government.

The United Nations Children’s Fund ( UNICEF) said despite, over 90 per cent of mothers initiating breastfeeding, the exclusive rate for the first six months has stagnated, highlighting a need for improved workplace policies and support.

Over the years, the federal government has initiated several interventions to address the issue of child malnutrition even though they’re  more of adhoc measures.

Only last year, this newspaper recalled that the federal government had set up the Nutrition -774 Initiative, targeted at revitalising and incentivising local action to improve food security, health, and nutrition in Nigeria and the National Legislative Network on Nutrition and Food Security.

On the heels of that was a National Summit on Nutrition and Food Security, hosted by the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, which brought together experts from relevant sectors, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), the armed forces, security agencies, traditional rulers, members of the House of Representatives, and members of State Houses of Assembly, as well as supporting development partners.

Declaring the summit open, Vice-President Kashim Shettima, had called for a multi-sectoral and multi-level approach to stemming malnutrition and improving security in the country.

But traditional and religious leaders need to do more besides attending the fan fare lunch.

The need to address malnutrition at the community level has become quite imperative following the dismal  developmental outcomes of the nation’s future leaders.

The traditional rulers role as pivotal custodians of culture, tradition, and local governance, serves as crucial intermediaries between the government and grassroots communities.

This newspaper recognises that even though they lack explicit roles in the 1999 constitution as amended, they maintain peace, resolve conflicts through traditional methods, and drive development, making them essential for stability and security in contemporary Nigeria.

According to  World Bank reports from April 2025, approximately 75.5 per cent of Nigeria’s rural population lives below the poverty line,

This indicates that rural dwellers make up the vast majority of Nigeria’s poor, with rural poverty rates nearly double those of urban areas, where 41.3 per cent are considered poor.

Reports also indicate that child malnutrition in these rural communities across Nigeria is significantly higher than in urban areas, with recent data indicating a “serious” or “critical” crisis in many areas.

It is a fact that the early years are the most critical and by the time a child is five or 10, it is already too late to reverse the damage to brain development.

The 2023- 24 Nigeria Demographic and Health  Survey ( NDHS) and recent malnutrition analyses (late 2024–2025) indicate that stunting among children under five has worsened, with some estimates in rural areas showing over 50 per cent.

But the country’s traditional leaders need to take responsibity for their subjects’ well-being and  take the gospel of the importance of breastfeeding  and nutritious feeding home to them.

Also, many of our religious leaders have cult-like following among their followers so their religious homes should serve as a platform to disseminate good feeding practices.

We call on them to raise awareness and sensitise households to ensure that maternal and child malnutrition become a thing of the past for vulnerable children, and contribute meaningfully to the national response to ending child malnutrition.

But our worries stem from the fact that this intervention like others before it, may end up being truncated and abandoned along the way.

Nigeria does not lack policies but translating those policies into action has been a great challenge.

President Tinubu had said that building healthier and stronger generations of Nigerian children is essential to national development.

In the words of the late American President, John F. Kennedy, children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.”