Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concern over Nigeria’s child malnutrition figures. He warned that the rising cost of food, transportation and energy is increasingly affecting children’s development.
According to Independent, Atiku made the remarks in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu. He linked household financial pressures with families’ ability to provide nutritious meals.
Figures cited by nutrition experts in the statement showed that 41.1 per cent of Nigerian children under five are stunted. In addition, 19.2 per cent are severely stunted.
The figures also put the prevalence of stunting in the North-West at 58.2 per cent.
Atiku warns over impact on children
Atiku said nearly two million children were reportedly suffering from severe acute malnutrition. However, only about two in every 10 were receiving treatment.
“This is the most heartbreaking face of the cost-of-living crisis,” he said.
“Behind every statistic is a Nigerian mother struggling to decide what her children can eat, how much they can eat and how often they can eat.”
He argued that rising food prices cannot be separated from increases in transportation and energy costs. This is because higher expenses throughout the supply chain ultimately affect what families pay for food.
“A child does not understand inflation figures. A child only knows whether there is food on the table,” Atiku said.
Atiku calls for stronger nutrition intervention
The former vice president called for expanded treatment for severely malnourished children and stronger maternal and child nutrition programmes.
He also urged authorities to ensure that funding allocated to nutrition programmes reaches communities where interventions are needed.
Atiku maintained that addressing malnutrition would require tackling the wider economic pressures making adequate diets increasingly difficult for low-income households.
He said reducing energy, transportation and production costs could help improve purchasing power while making essential goods more affordable.
“We cannot build a strong country on the bodies of hungry children,” Atiku said, urging policymakers to judge economic decisions partly by their impact on ordinary families.
