Malnutrition Claiming Future Leaders in N/East, Says Expert

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

A renowned  nutritionist  and a lecturer at Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Mrs Sosanya Mercy, has declared that many future leaders in the North East region were being wasted by malnutrition.

Sosanya, a senior lecturer in the Department of Food and Nutrition of the institution, who  made the declaration in Bauchi while speaking at a roundtable of Bauchi State Network of Civil Society Organisations yesterday emphasised that a lot of organisations were busy arguing on figure of children being malnourished while such human capital that could become presidents, scientists, senators, doctors and inventors were being eroded by malnutrition.

The Nutritionist  said that instead of arguing on statistics of children being threatened by the scourge of malnutrition provided by UNICEF and other bodies, stakeholders should concentrate on curbing the menace.

She, therefore, suggested that stakeholders should be busy working out modalities to ensure that the 667 million dollars meant for the affected children in the Lake Chad Basin reaches those in the remote areas.

According to her, “Enact nutrition sensitive macro-economic policies that could reach rural areas and embark on economic empowerment programme that could improve family income to increase access to food.

“Also improve food production, preservation and storage as well as condemn positive deviance approach to sustain nutrition for the people to curb malnutrition,” Mercy suggested.

She called on civil organisations to preach the gospel of hygienic handling of food, active feeding and breast feeding of children, develop standard recipes from local foods for parents in the rural areas and hinterlands.

The nutritionist warned government at all levels over dependency on foreign aides but to strive towards becoming independent as well as to source local foods as substitutes to imported ones.