A Revolution for Nutrition in Nigeria; A Time of Awakening
As most of all Nigerians know, Nigerian food offers a rich blend of traditional African foods that provides the basic nutrients needed by the body. But even though varieties of nutritious foods are grown in Nigeria, malnutrition is still very common today. Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excess, or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. It refers to undernutrition or overnutrition. In Nigeria, when we talk about malnutrition, we most commonly mean undernutrition, that is, not getting enough nutrients, which results in stunting, being underweight, wasting, or a combination of all three. Undernutrition makes children more vulnerable to infection, more prone to diseases, and increases their risk of death. Every year, over 1 million Nigerian children die before their fifth birthday and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) identifies malnutrition as the underlying cause of morbidity and mortality in more than 50 percent of these children. This figure places...