Nigerian First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Buhari has appealed to government, private organisations and individuals to commit funds and other resources to the prevention and treatment of child malnutrition in the country.
To this end, she has tasked stakeholders to ensure that all policies and services required for treatment of malnutrition; including CMAM centres, are supported to function optimally particularly at this time of the coronavirus.
Hajiya Aisha Buhari in a statement issued by Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity (Office of the First Lady), said by taking prompt action, the county will prevent children from the scourge of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and in the long term attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to leave no one behind.
She noted that her Foundation is a member of the Nigeria SAM consortium which targets advocacy for sustainable intervention towards the prevention and treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in Nigeria.
“Experts in the field have posited that proper nutrition strengthens the immune system to combat most illnesses including the novel Corona virus; malnutrition on the other hand weakens the immune system thereby increasing susceptibility to diseases and eventual death and this puts the vulnerable children who are under 5 years of age (over 45% of them are already malnourished) in Nigeria at a higher risk.
“Malnutrition is one of the major cause of mortality and underdevelopment among children under five in Nigeria before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the emergence of the pandemic and subsequent restriction of movement, the situation has worsened, resulting in the shortage of food supply.
Consequently, this has led to a significant increase in the number of acutely malnourished children requiring urgent attention and collective action.”
She acknowledges the efforts of the government through the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 in facilitating the supply of relief materials including food and cash to millions of vulnerable Nigerians across the country to help cushion the effect of Covid-19 pandemic.
