Before the COVID-19, Nigeria has not fared well in dealing with the burden of malnutrition. With the pandemic, experts fear that the battle against malnutrition could suffer a setback, adding that it will take a collective effort to tackle the menace in the country.

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund has stated that malnutrition is a direct or underlying cause of 45 per cent of all deaths of under-five children. It states that Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 per cent of children under five.

A nutritionist and member of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Mrs. Josephine Chukwunweike, in an interview with our correspondent, defined malnutrition as the condition in which one is undernourished, when the body has fewer nutrients than it required, or over-nourished, more nutrients than the body required.

She said, “These two classifications of malnutrition exist in Nigeria and thus Nigeria is said to be faced with the double burden of malnutrition. However, our major issue is undernutrition, which is protein-energy malnutrition or micronutrient deficiency. This implies that most Nigerians do not meet their nutritional requirements, especially the vulnerable groups; children under five years.” The expert opined that the pandemic has increased the burden of malnutrition in the country. “There could be several causes of malnutrition but in the case of Nigeria, especially with the pandemic, a prevailing underlying cause is food insecurity. Nigeria is food insecure and this means that not every Nigerian has access to adequate food every day all year round and this is largely because of the shortage in food supply or the problem of affordability.” Punch