1.5 Million Children in Kano Malnourished, State Govt. Reveals

Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano.

Kano state government has disclosed that no fewer than 1.5 million children under the age of five are currently stunted due to poor dietary diversification.
The State Deputy Director of Family Health and Nutrition, Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Murtala Inuwa, disclosed this while addressing journalists, at an annual media dialogue on giving voice and visibility to Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) held in Kano.
He explained that the figure represents 46 per cent of the number of children in the state.

During the media dialogue in collaboration with the Alive and Thrive initiative, Inuwa lamented that Nigeria loses about 2,313 children daily translating to 844,321 under-five children deaths annually, close to half of which are due to malnutrition.
He said Kano has put in mechanisms to face the challenge of stunting due to undernutrition and lack of proper breastfeeding, saying, Kano remains a populous state with 810,000 children aged 6 – 23 months.

“Kano is the most populous state in Nigeria with 810,000 children aged 6 – 23 months. Stunting affects 46 percent of under five children in Kano state.
“Only 30 per cent of children 6 – 23 months in Kano consume food from five variety of foods daily (MDD) and only 40.5 per cent consume a meal at ideal number of times daily (MMF).
“Only 14.6 per cent consume Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) and only 28.7 percent consume meat, 12.3 percent consume dairy and 2 percent consume eggs,” he said.

Inuwa, added that a window of opportunity would resolve the growing problem adding that the first 1000 days of life starting from the mother’s pregnancy to the child’s second birthday could be used to prevent undernutrition and its consequences.
“The first 1,000 days of life, from the start of a woman’s pregnancy to a child’s second birthday offer an extraordinary window of opportunity for preventing undernutrition and its consequences. From conception to two years represents a ‘critical window of opportunity’ for the promotion of optimal growth, health, and development.

“Actions targeted at this critical period, such as widely accepted and evidence-based interventions, including exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life beginning with early initiation, discouraging pre-lacteal feeds and bottle feeding.
“Appropriate complementary foods from six months with continued breastfeeding for up to two years, micronutrient supplementation for women and children to address deficiencies.

“These investments in nutrition, particularly in the earliest years of life, can yield dramatic results for children, their families, and communities.”

He added: “Most instances of stunting occur during the first 1,000 days when complementary feeding plays a major role. Poor dietary diversity is a risk factor for stunting among children aged 6 – 23 months.

“Children 6-23 months who consumed fewer food groups were 34 per cent more likely to be stunted compared to those who consumed five or more food groups.

“Children who did not consume any animal source foods (ASF) were 44 per cent more likely to be stunted compared to children who consumed all three types of ASF (egg, meat, and dairy)” he said.

The Deputy Director further explained that maternal and newborn health and nutrition were inextricably connected, adding that Nigeria accounts for over 34 percent of global maternal deaths.