A new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that Nigeria is among 12 countries worst hit by global food and nutrition crisis induced mainly by the war in Ukraine, drought, conflict and instability in some countries. The rest include Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen.
In the report entitled: “Undernourished: A Global Nutrition Crisis in Adolescent Girls and Women,” issued before the International Women’s Day, UNICEF “warns that the ongoing crises, aggravated by ongoing gender inequality, are deepening a nutrition crisis among adolescent girls and women that had already shown little improvement in the last two decades.” According to UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russel, “the global hunger crisis is pushing millions of mothers and their children into hunger and severe malnutrition.” She also warned that without urgent action from the international community, the consequences could last for generations to come. The report also says that the number of pregnant and breastfeeding adolescent girls and women suffering from acute malnutrition has increased from 5.5 million or 25 per cent since 2020 in 12 countries hardest hit by the global food adolescent girls and women and nutrition crisis.
In Nigeria, UNICEF disclosed that the number of undernourished adolescent girls and women aged 15 to 49 years increased from 5.6 million in 2018 to 7.3 million in 2021. Also, 55 per cent of adolescent girls and women in Nigeria suffer from anemia while nearly half of Nigerian women of reproductive age lack access to adequate nutrition. About 12 million Nigerian children under the age of 5 are reportedly stunted as a result of malnutrition.
A comprehensive assessment of the state of adolescent girls and women’s nutrition globally indicates that over one billion adolescent girls and women suffer from undernutrition, deficiencies in essential micronutrients and anemia, with devastating consequences for their lives and wellbeing. The report points out that inadequate nutrition during girls’ and women’s lives can lead to weakened immunity, poor cognitive development, among others.
It can also lead to an increased risk of life-threatening complications during pregnancy and childbirth. South Asia and sub-Saharan African are the worst hit regions by the nutrition crisis among adolescent girls and women. They are home to 2 in 3 adolescent girls and women suffering from underweight globally, and 3 in 5 adolescent girls and women with anemia. Unfortunately, the global crises have continued to disrupt women’s access to nutritious food. For instance, in 2021, there were 126 million more food insecure women than men, compared to 49 million more in 2019. This shows that the gender gap of food insecurity has more than doubled. It is sad that Nigeria is among the 12 hardest hit countries by the global food and nutrition crisis. Nigeria should not have been in the list of countries that adolescent girls and women that lack adequate nutrition considering its abundant human and material resources.
We have enough land to grow adequate food for our teeming population as well as plenty water for fish production. We also have the capacity for animal husbandry. The UNICEF report can be regarded as a clarion call on the Nigerian government to prioritise adolescent girls and women’s nutrition to ensure their health and wellbeing.
The nutrition crisis can no longer be overlooked. Addressing malnutrition in adolescent girls and women is the best way to prevent undernutrition in children. Although UNICEF had last year scaled up its efforts to improve nutrition in the 12 countries hardest hit by the global nutrition crisis, including Nigeria and others, the federal and state governments must complement UNICEF’s efforts to prevent, detect and treat wasting in women and children.
Since there is an inseparable link between adequate nutrition and health, let the government ensure that all Nigerians, especially adolescent girls and women and children, have access to adequate nutrition. There is urgent need to expand large-scale food fortification of routinely consumed foods such as flour, cooking oil and salt as a way of reducing micronutrient deficiencies and anemia in girls and women.
This is the time to work towards the elimination of discriminatory gender and social norms such as child marriage and the inequitable sharing of food and household resources. Let the government accelerate all programmes that will help reduce mass poverty and unemployment.