Health and nutrition experts have called on Nigerians to prioritize proper nutrition as a means of ensuring a healthier nation.
The call was made during the launch of the Nutrition Support Centre (NSC), a pilot initiative at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
The NSC project, led by Community Pot, aims to address malnutrition, particularly stunting and wasting among Nigerian children.
Dr. Titilayo Falade, a FoodSafety4Africa Project Coordinator and Scientist at IITA, presented the theme, “The Impact of Malnutrition on the Economy.” She highlighted the consequences of malnutrition, which she said undermines national health, increases healthcare costs, and hinders economic growth.
Falade lamented that malnutrition adversely impacts productivity, adding that it contributes to food-borne diseases and a reduction in Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Ignorance plays a big role in what happens in our society. Malnutrition affects our health; it increases health costs, social problems, food-borne diseases, and loss in the GDP,” Falade said.
Speaking at the event, Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, represented by Bolaji Ayoola, the Director of Nursing Services at the Oyo State Hospital Management Board, underscored the link between maternal nutrition and national well-being. “A healthy mother means a healthy baby. When a pregnant woman eats nutritious food, she is more likely to have a healthy child, which contributes to a healthier family and, by extension, a healthier nation,” she stated.
Ajetunmobi reiterated that ignorance, not poverty, is often the root cause of malnutrition.
In her remarks, Kemi Jeje, founder of Community Pot, described malnutrition as a challenge fueled by misinformation and insufficient support.
She called for higher investment in nutrition, noting that such efforts could reduce healthcare costs.
Jeje revealed that the NSC initiative aims to rehabilitate and nourish 10 million toddlers across Nigeria, with plans to establish 20,000 Nutrition Support Centres nationwide.
“We want to change the narrative of nutrition in Nigeria. Nutrition plays a big role in healthy living. Some are not eating right due to ignorance and lack of good support. If we invest in nutrition, health expenditure will be reduced.
“The goal of NSC is to rehabilitate, prevent, and see to the adequate nourishment of 10 million toddlers, to establish 20,000 of these centres across our nation, and by doing this, to change the narration that we currently have in toddler malnutrition, and working with everyone seated here and everyone that is going to join the course to reduce the malnutrition numbers to zero.”
Dr. Folusho Balogun, a Senior Research Fellow and Consultant Pediatrician at UCH, commended Community Pot for its commitment to addressing malnutrition.
Balogun, who officially unveiled the NSC, noted that the initiative would go a long way to promote healthy eating habits and prevent malnutrition among children.