Ignorance partly responsible for malnutrition – Experts

“My 10 months old baby was diagnosed to be malnourished at the primary health centre in my village and we were advised to feed him properly. So we took him home and fed him what we thought would help him regain his lost weight and health.” “Before we took him to the health facility, he […]

“My 10 months old baby was diagnosed to be malnourished at the primary health centre in my village and we were advised to feed him properly. So we took him home and fed him what we thought would help him regain his lost weight and health.”
“Before we took him to the health facility, he was stooling and vomiting, and he hardly ate anything; nothing stayed in his little tummy, I told my wife to stop breast feeding him, because I thought the breast milk was responsible for his present predicament.”
Those words are the statements by Mr and Mrs David Ogubike from Ohaajiu from Imo State, when they described the health of their child to reporters attending a workshop organized by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and Child Rights Information Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture on ‘Child Malnutrition – An Investment For The Future’.
Though they were advised to return for the treatment of the child, they had no money to go back so they resorted to other means until they were rescued by the nutrition officer of the state.
“My wife never practiced exclusive breastfeeding for six months or even three months. I know she gives him water sometimes and other alternative foods, because nobody told us to practice exclusive breastfeeding even though she went for anti-natal.
“To improve our baby’s health, we fed him “akamu”, pap, milk, sometimes we mix Maltina and tin tomatoes and gave it to him but nothing happened until the state nutrition officer started treating him and since then there has been improvement in his condition,” Ogubike said.
Most parents who do not visit the health centres or get any health education on the best way to feed and raise their children to ensure their survival, tend to depend on their own understanding, which more often than not end up endangering the child.
The chief of communication, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Doune Porter, noted that two out of three children are not fed appropriately because most mothers did not make adequate use of the 1000 window days that were essential for the survival of the child.
She added that Ghana had reduced child and infant mortality drastically because it invested heavily in enlightenment and awareness campaigns to promote exclusive breastfeeding for six months for babies before mothers were advised to start complimentary foods.
She said: “Unfortunately mothers do not have access to the right amount of foods, vitamins or minerals, or the best information to aid the survival of their babies, and most governments do not appreciate the high returns on investment if adequate attention is directed to malnutrition.
“But most importantly various governments at different levels must invest in treating malnourished children to stop them dying.”
Zakaria Fusheini, the nutrition advocacy specialist of UNICEF Nigeria, in a presentation on nutrition intervention in Nigeria noted that the malnutrition situation in the country was quite critical as most states had above 9% rates of malnutrition.
He said most mothers were disadvantaged because they were not educated, enlightened or equipped with the necessary information which would have helped improve the chances of survival for the child.
Fusheini said countries that succeeded in reducing child mortality used and upscale preventive measures and promoted exclusive breastfeeding.
His words: “Countries, like Ghana our close neighbour, have recorded 70% increase in breastfeeding while Nigeria is still battling with a mere 17% rate in breast feeding, which is not too good.”
He noted that to reduce malnutrition might not be too difficult if people only would put in the effort, like not giving babies drinking water during the first 6 months and afterwards prepared nutrients rich foods, ensured that the child eats 3-4 meals and 1-2 snacks and ensured that mothers washed their hands and utensils always.
Uchechi Nnadi, a single mother who has a malnourished child, also insisted that no one took time to explain the importance of breastfeeding or how to introduce complimentary foods that were rich in nutrients to their babies, adding that more often than not they were forced to depend on their own sources of information.
The head of Child Right and Information Bureau at the Federal Ministry of Information, Mrs Rose Madu, explained that most rural mothers could claim ignorance about breastfeeding simply because they did not attend antenatal early.
She said such women went for antenatal quite late, when the nurses or health workers might have finished educating those available on some basic hygienic practices, breastfeeding and also when to introduce complimentary foods to babies.
“Our health educators and nurses are always advised to tell mothers to initiate breastfeeding within 30 minutes of delivery to improve the baby’s survival, but most often than not they don’t turn up,” she said. 
A deputy director at the Federal Ministry of Health and nutrition expert, Dr Chris Isokpunwu, said although the rate of malnutrition definitely increased with poverty, it was not a problem that was unique to the poor.
“There is no part of the country that is immune to the scourge which causes the stunting of over 11 million and death of a half million children in the country,” he pointed out.
According to Isokpunwu, even when there was abundance of food, parents and caregivers were not well-informed about appropriate feeding practices.
He said: “There is little understanding about the essential types and varieties of foods that children require to grow healthy.
“The cost of malnutrition during the first 1000 days of birth is almost irreversible. It can result in brain damage, growth and development problems, poor educational performance and increased risk of chronic disease in later life.
“This period represents a critical window of opportunity as adequate nutrition can avert malnutrition while ensuring that children have the best possible opportunity to grow, learn and rise out of poverty.”
A communiqué issued from the two-day nutrition meeting in Owerri, where participants were encouraged to use the hastag.#StopChildMalnutritionNigeria, noted that feeding practices had been identified as one of the causes of malnutrition.
It reads in part: “The president and all state governors should devote at least five percent of their security votes to the fight against child malnutrition in the country. There could be no greater threat to the country than the one posed by severe child malnutrition which puts the lives of over 2.5 million innocent children on the line annually.