Impact of nutrition on early childhood development

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) recently disclosed that over 60 per cent of under-five children in Nigeria are at risk of not reaching their potential because their development has been stunted by poor nutrition and lack of early stimulation. AJUMA EDWINA OGIRI examines the link between nutrition and Early Childhood Development (ECD).

Early Childhood Development (ECD)
Early Childhood Development (ECD) refers to the physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional development of a child from conception to age five.

According to the medical journal, The Lancet, Nigeria ranks among the 10 countries with the largest number of children at risk of poor development.
Speaking at a media dialogue on ECD, recently in Kano, UNICEF Education Specialist, Swadchet Sankey, described the period as critical and single window opportunity to shape the development of a child’s brain, adding that at every stage, the child is expected to acquire certain developmental skills.

She explained that during this period, “With 90 per cent of a child’s brain development occurring before the age of five, early childhood experiences can have a profound impact on a child’s development and ultimately impact a country’s growth.
“The brain is formed at an unrepeated speed, giving shape and depth to children’s cognitive, emotional and social development which influences their capacity to learn, solve problems and to relate with others.”
This, according to her, will in a long way have significant impact on their adult lives, affecting their ability to earn a living and contribute to the society.

She described early childhood as a critical opportunity to shape a child’s development, and emphasised that “nurturing children, effective stimulation among others would help them to learn, laugh, feel joy and become more creative and imaginative.
“These relatively simple actions have a ripple impact on the child’s long-term development, education and future successes, adding any environment that is not sensitive to nutrition, health and security of children is not a complete environment for ECD.

“A stable environment is one that is sensitive to children’s health and nutritional needs, with protection from threats, opportunities for early learning, and interactions that are responsive, emotionally supportive and developmentally stimulating.
“Nigeria does not have the fundamentals in place for a comprehensive approach to ECD, with an integrated multi-sectoral ECD policy, the key indicators of child development outcomes in the country remain low.

“The current policy is out-dated, and needs to be reviewed to contain current thinking and an improved approach to delivering ECD across various platforms,” she explained.

ECD, nutrition and academic performance
Studies have shown that a child’s early years begin before birth when it comes to nutrition, as under-nutrition during pregnancy stunts foetal growth and can lead to poor brain development that results in irreversible chronic illnesses.

Under-nutrition of a breastfeeding mother can also negatively impact a child’s development, especially in the first six months of breastfeeding.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), UNICEF and other key partners, recently officially released the results of the 5th Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS5), conducted between September 2016, and January 2017, from 33,901 households in 2,239 enumeration areas across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

The results indicated that malnutrition among children under age five has worsened nationwide, with the highest concerns in northern states.

Child wasting, that is children who are too thin for their age, increased from 24.2 per cent to 31.5 per cent, while child stunting; that is children who are too short for their age, increased from 34.8 per cent to 43.6 per cent.

Research has also shown that nutrition in a child’s early years, is linked to their health and academic performance in future.
Speaking on the importance of nutrition on young child development, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF, Dr Bamidele Omotola, said the relationship between nutrition, health and learning is undeniably strong, as nutrition is one of the three major factors that impact a child’s development.

“In gestation and infancy, the brain is an ‘energy hog’, consuming between 50 and 75 per cent of all the energy absorbed by the body from food, including fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Inadequate nutrition during that period affects the structure and functions of the brain in ways that are difficult to offset later.

“Supporting exclusive breastfeeding, having good Early Childhood Development policies in place will help to improve the overall health and nutrition of a child, enable parents and care-givers to be more responsive to children’s needs and provide greater safety and security. It will also provide improved early learning.”

Dr. Omotola further added that nutrition and stimulation are essential for good development during the first three years of a child’s life, and urged mothers to stimulate their children for proper development.

Achieving the SDGs goals on ECD
UNICEF has disclosed that ECD is key to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

“What we call ECD, which includes physical and cognitive support, has a strategic place in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“Investing in ECD, including services to support caregivers, quality pre-primary education and good nutrition will help to secure healthy and productive future generations in Nigeria,” said UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall.

Also, speaking on ECD in the SDGs, Sankey said, “SDGs present an opportunity to connect ECD with efforts to create equity, productivity, prosperity and sustainable growth for a more peaceful future.

“Embedded in the SDGs is hunger, health, education and justice targeting on malnutrition, child mortality, early learning and violence.”

The specialist, who identified SDGs 3 and 4 which deals with good health and education as targeting ECD, said through quality ECD, all children, irrespective of background, would have access to quality care, education, nutrition, protection among others.

Sankey further noted that ECD would aid in driving transformation agenda, describing it as a cost-effective strategy for poverty eradication.

“ECD is the foundation of achieving SDGs. If we do not increase investment on ECD in early years we will have issues in achieving SDGs, because all the 17 goals are tied to it, because the child is at the centre of it all.
“You want to eradicate poverty, gender inequality, you need to invest in the children; you want to improve the economy among others; you need to invest in children,” she advised.

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