49 percent of productive women are anaemic – Expert

Prof. Nnam spoke in Lagos during a partnership briefing between the Unilever and the Nutrition Society of Nigeria on the Impact of Iron Deficiency Anaemia among women.She said the huge incidences of Anaemia, particularly among productive women could be responsible for the low productivity of the average Nigerian worker.According to her the situation is dangerous […]

Prof. Nnam spoke in Lagos during a partnership briefing between the Unilever and the Nutrition Society of Nigeria on the Impact of Iron Deficiency Anaemia among women.
She said the huge incidences of Anaemia, particularly among productive women could be responsible for the low productivity of the average Nigerian worker.
According to her the situation is dangerous since 49 percent (about 21 million) of productive women are anaemic saying that the prevalence rate is more than the entire Lagos state population which is said to be over 17 million.
“This suggests that majority of the children born by these women wouldn’t develop normally thus their intellectual capacity would be gravely diminished. When this occurs, the economy would be the worst for it as the children would grow to perform below capacity”.
“In Nigeria, 49 percent of women of reproductive age have anaemia. 72 percent of children under 5 are anaemic. Children are rapidly growing thus they need iron to meet their physiological needs so they can grow to be productive” she said.
She defined anaemia “as a condition in which the number of red blood cells or their oxygen carrying capacity is incapacitated and does not meet ones physiological needs.”
Pregnant women, women and adolescent girls of reproductive age and children are particularly vulnerable she noted, adding that iron is an essential element for humans as it participates in a wide variety of metabolic processes, including oxygen transport, DNA synthesis, neutral and development.