The Federal Government has restated its determination to eradicate malnutrition in Nigeria by adopting collaborative, community-based interventions and consistent policy implementation.
This was disclosed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, during the 2025 Clinical Nutrition Conference of the West African Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (WASPEN), held on Wednesday in Abuja.
Pate, who was represented by Dr Emmanuel Abata, Director of the Nutrition Information System, described the conference theme, “Bridging the Gap: Integrating Hospital, Community and Malnutrition Care in Developing Countries,” as both timely and critical.
“Malnutrition remains a critical public health challenge with far-reaching impacts on the health system and economic productivity. Our collective responsibility is to ensure that nutrition support does not end at hospital discharge but continues seamlessly into the community,” he said.
He highlighted ongoing federal interventions, including the N774 programme, which aims to deliver nutritional support across all 774 Local Government Areas. He also noted the upscaling of training for frontline healthcare workers and the implementation of the National Guidelines for Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition.
The ministry, he added, was distributing nutritional commodities to states and reinforcing collaboration with professional bodies like WASPEN to support research, data-driven policymaking, and outreach to affected communities.
Dr Dolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary of the FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, warned about the emerging dual burden of malnutrition—both undernutrition and overnutrition—especially in urban settings like the FCT.
Represented by Dr Olugbenga Bello, Director-General of the FCTA Hospital Management Board, she remarked, “Many middle-aged men have protruding stomachs; this too is malnutrition.” She emphasised the need for locally produced, affordable nutritional therapies and urged pharmaceutical firms to collaborate with government efforts.
Professor Cyril Osifo, Chairman of the Conference, lamented that over 37 per cent of Nigerian children—about six million—are stunted, with two million suffering from severe acute malnutrition. He attributed this largely to poverty and food insecurity, stressing the importance of education, sanitation, and food preservation.
“Post-discharge malnutrition is also a concern. Many patients who leave hospitals relapse or die simply because they cannot afford food,” he said.
WASPEN President, Dr Teresa Pounds, advocated mandatory nutritional screening for all hospitalised patients. “We need a system where every admitted patient is assessed for nutritional status. For those unable to eat, parenteral nutrition is vital,” she said.
She also revealed that WASPEN is collaborating with partners on local production of parenteral nutrition formulas in Nigeria, with a pilot scheme already underway. The society’s annual conferences, she added, are designed to strengthen healthcare capacity and promote the role of clinical nutrition in recovery and sustained wellness.
(NAN)