July 12, 2024 Comments 0 Juliet Umeh

Food insecurity: How malnutrition leads to brain damage in children- Expert

Lagos Ministry of Health & Social Welfare trains caregivers

Nigeria’s economic situation is creating a critical issue for familie – affording a balanced diet. This lack of proper nutrition puts children at risk of malnutrition, and experts warn that malnutrition before the age of two can lead to irreversible stunting.

According to the Director of Family Health and Nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Oludara Folashade, by the time a child is stunted and the child gets to age two, it is irreversible.

Oludara as the Lagos State Ministry of Health and Social Welfare begins training trainers on essential maternal and child nutrition.

Speaking on the first day of a week-long programme which is also supported by the World Bank Project, Oludara noted that: stunting is irreversible and it could lead to brain damage. And once the brain of a child is damaged, there is little or nothing anybody can do anymore.

“So we are trying to change this narrative and ensure that none of our children (before they clock the age of two) has malnutrition and do not get stunted to the level that their brain will be irreversibly damaged.”

She continued: “The objective of the training is to improve Nigeria’s nutritional indices in the state just as we know that right now there’s food insecurity everywhere and the major group of the community affected are the mothers and children.

“Mothers especially when they are pregnant and children especially when they are under the age of five. So what we are doing today is to intensify the efforts, to improve the efforts of our health workers in providing that correct information to the caregivers or pregnant women on the type of nutrition, food or diet that they are supposed to take that will give them optimal nutrients that are required for optimal growth for under five and required for optimal outcome of pregnancy.

She said: “So this training is going to be focused on use of locally available foodstuff to be able to meet up with our nutritional requirements at every level, at every level of growth. Be it during pregnancy, while the baby is there.

“For instance, let me just talk about babies, the journey of a baby’s nutritional status starts from when the mother is pregnant. She has to know what to eat, locally made food that she can eat and that will give her the basic maximum nutrients that she requires for the growth of that child inside her. And when she finishes, she delivers.

But before she delivers, we want her to know how to breastfeed or feed the baby.

“We naturally give her breast milk. Nothing more before the child crosses six months. By the time the child crosses six months, part of what this training is also covering is to ensure that every health care worker, be it private, public or any organization or association, can see that we have all representatives here.

“Be it federal level, state level, local government level, we all have them here. And all the relevant associations, that’s to do with nutrition. So we want everybody to know the correct information to give to that woman in addition to what she’s going to be giving the baby until the baby crosses two years old.

“So from six months up to two years, the baby must take additional adult food. So the baby will be introduced to adult food.

From exclusive breastfeeding down to six months, which is exclusive.

“After six months, the breastfeeding continues, then there must be an introduction of adult food and we have steps to that.

“So during pregnancy, the woman will be taught all that before she delivers. So she will know what is expected and she will know how to prepare these foods. Ironically, there are so many locally available foods that we just take for granted.

“There are some food that cheap but people think that are for poor people, but they are actually very nutritious. Examples are egusi, coco yam or sweet potato.

They are very good for children.

“And then, mix it with animal protein and plant protein as well. So, we are going to train everybody here. And at the end of this training, we are training all together.

We are going to have, as a state, almost 70 master trainers. Because they’ve trained some people before, but we discovered that the number wasn’t enough.

“But with the assistance of the World Bank and with the ARIM project, they’ve given us a slot for 60 additional master trainers.

“Thank God, even the government has supported us. We have the counterpart funding for nutrition commodities that Mr. Governor has just approved for us.

“So we are hopeful we are going to get that. And we give the money to UNICEF. UNICEF also promised to match the fund, $100,000, to match the fund with another $100,000.

“That’s why we have $200,000. And then they will use it to help us import what we call nutrition commodities. We have micronutrient powder, ready-to-eat therapeutic food.

“The ready-to-eat therapeutic food, we use it to manage malnutrition.

“A lot of children are currently malnourished across the country. And you know Lagos is faced with the challenge of immigration.

“You know, many people want to be in Lagos and majority, 90 percent of these people are under, they suffer from undernutrition. So we have to, at least for the under-five children, we have to bring them out of that malnutrition.

“So that Lagos will continue to be the pace setter as we ought to, as we’ve been. And then the micronutrient is also there to augment the nutritional status of these children. We are not unaware of the fact that even our agricultural methods, as you know, over time, reduce the quality of the soil that we have.

“And then the quality of the produce. So a lot of vitamins, and even in the process of taking the produce from the farm, processing it, taking it for preservation and everything, a lot of nutrients are missing. You know, the food is already reduced in nutrients.

“So, we need additional nutrients, which is the reason why we are going to get micronutrient powder in addition to the ready-to-eat therapeutic food for malnourished children.

“And this micronutrient powder to give to children below the age of two. Because by the time a child is stunted and the child gets to age two, it is irreversible.”

Earlier in her address, Lagos State Coordinator of Alive & Thrive (which also supported the training trainers initiative), Olawumi Ajayi, also said the initiative aims to equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills to empower mothers and caregivers to ensure proper nutrition for their children during the critical first 1,000 days of life.

She said: “This informed why the FHI 360 through the Alive & Thrive Project in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and also through the World Bank Project is tackling malnutrition in Nigeria by training trainers on essential maternal and child nutrition and health programs.

“FHI 360 is dedicated to creating lasting solutions that improve lives and health outcomes,” “We believe that through collaboration and continuous learning, we can make significant strides in combating malnutrition and promoting health and well-being for mothers and children in Nigeria.”

Alive & Thrive recognizes the crucial role healthcare professionals play in advocating for and implementing best practices in Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN). This training program equips them with the necessary expertise to guide mothers and caregivers on optimal infant and young child feeding practices.

“FHI 360 Alive & Thrive is honored to support Lagos State Ministry of Health on this training,” Ajayi added. “We believe it will go a long way in improving the nutrition situation in the state. Your role as advocates and implementers of best practices in MIYCN is vital, and we applaud your dedication and hard work,” Ajayi said.