Sadly, a 2021 UNICEF reporttitled ‘Fed to Fail’, states that many children under age two are lacking the food and nutrients they need to thrive and grow well, leading to irreversible developmental harm. Vulnerable childrenĬhildren below the age of two years are most vulnerable to all forms of malnutrition – stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity – as a result of poor diets, due to their greater need for essential nutrients per kilogramme of body weight than at any other time in life. “I thought we would be dead by now,” she said. Ali, a Four year old Malnourished child residing at Munna Garage Internally Displaced Persons Camp, Maiduguri (PHOTO CREDIT: Nike Adebowale-Tambe)ĭuring this period, the family had little or nothing to eat as they tried to survive every passing day. She said her family walked long distances every day and night until they arrived at the camp. “All nutrients are needed and in the right proportion for every child,” she said.Īt the time Ms Bakari fled her community, she was already pregnant with Salamatu which, according to her, worsened the situation.
Ms Makanjuola said all these steps are essential to be in sequence in ensuring that the child is well nourished. “Pregnant women are expected to consume healthy diets and after delivery, the baby is expected to be placed on exclusive breastfeeding and be fed nutritious meals afterwards,” Mary Makanjuola, a nutritionist told PREMIUM TIMES. Oftentimes, malnourishment starts from the mother’s womb. Nigeria loses 15% of her GDP annually to malnutrition This has led to an increase in the number of malnourished children in different parts of the country.Īt least 17 million Nigerian children are undernourished stunted and/or wasted, giving Nigeria the highest burden of malnutrition in Africa and the second highest in the world. With farms empty or destroyed, trade and livelihoods ruined and the economy battered, many displaced families find it difficult to feed. Ms Bakari and her family are part of the 2.7 million people that have been displaced from their homes in Nigeria, according to data obtained from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. The violence has caused the death of thousands of people, wreaked havoc on agricultural output and other livelihoods, cut off crucial services and caused the internal displacement of millions of people Behind the crisisįor more than a decade, Northern Nigeria, and specifically the North-east, has been subjected to relentless attacks by deadly groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP). None of her five older siblings suffered from malnutrition. Her life would have been better if her family was still at Dikwa, a serene farming community until the blight of insurgency. Salamatu can be described as a ‘victim of circumstance’. “We struggle to eat even one fair meal a day,” she said. Munna Garage Internally Displaced Persons Camp Maiduguri, Borno stateĪfter five of her relatives were killed in an attack, Ms Bakari, then pregnant with Salamatu, fled the community and began the journey to what she describes as a “miserable life”.įeeding has become a luxury since Ms Bakari and her family got to the camp. “We cannot afford to eat three times daily,” she said. At night, the family snack on what is left or resort to pap which she describes as their best meal. Ms Bakari said she prepares one proper meal a day. “I am sad about my child’s health and her growth but I tried my best as a mother to feed Salamatu and her siblings with the food I can get,” Ms Bakari, a mother of six, said. Although she is three, Salamatu’s tiny body seems like that of an 18 -month-old. Her mother, Fatsuma Bakari, had brought her to the health facility after she stopped eating.
A nurse attending to Three years old Salamatu at a health facility in Maiduguri, Northeast Nigeria (PHOTO CREDIT: Nike Adebowale-Tambe) Salamatu ticked all symptoms of malnourishment and was one of the many malnourished children residing at the Munna garage IDP camp in Maiduguri, Borno State. Salamatu slowly parted her lips as the nurse tried to feed her with a peanut-butter paste known as RUFT, a treatment for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). She had suffered from fever, diarrhoea, and low appetite in the past three days which had left her weak. Wrapped in her mother’s arm in a health facility in Maiduguri, north-east Nigeria, Salamatu struggled to force a tear as a nurse wrapped a white tape around her left arm. Three-year-old Salamatu’s face was gaunt, her eyes sunken and her tiny hands and legs tightly covered by flesh.
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