The West African Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (WASPEN) says between 30 and 45 per cent of patients are malnourished upon admission into tertiary health facilities.
The Founder and President of WASPEN, Dr. Teresa Pounds, disclosed this at a virtual news conference on Monday while announcing the society’s Fifth Annual Clinical Nutrition Conference, scheduled for June 22 to 25 in Asaba, Delta State.
Pounds described hospital malnutrition as a silent epidemic, noting that it remains one of the most under-recognised threats to patient safety and recovery despite its serious impact on health outcomes.
She added that the figure rises to 71 per cent among elderly patients in some hospital wards.
“The problem is that screening does not happen and hospitals lack multidisciplinary nutrition teams,” she said.
Pounds explained that malnutrition affects patients across all age groups, including premature newborns in neonatal intensive care units, children with severe illnesses, and adults with chronic diseases. Patients with HIV, tuberculosis, cancer, surgical conditions, and other illnesses are particularly vulnerable.
She noted that hospital malnutrition is associated with longer hospital stays, increased infections, delayed wound healing, higher treatment costs, and elevated risks of readmission and death.
Pounds, however, observed that nutrition care is yet to be consistently integrated into routine clinical practice in many healthcare institutions despite growing evidence of its importance.
She called on government institutions, healthcare leaders, development partners, and the media to support efforts to improve nutrition care systems across the country.
“The take-home message is that malnutrition in hospitalised patients is real. We must identify these patients early through screening and nutritional assessment so that we can begin timely intervention,” she said.
Pounds emphasised that effective management of hospital malnutrition requires collaboration among physicians, dietitians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and other healthcare professionals.
She also urged President Bola Tinubu to give hospital malnutrition the same level of attention accorded to community malnutrition programmes.
Pounds said WASPEN was established in 2019 to transform clinical nutrition care across West Africa through advocacy, education, research, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The society envisions a region where nutrition is recognised as a human right and every patient has access to safe, equitable, and evidence-based nutrition care.
She noted that the society has hosted four annual clinical nutrition conferences and established Nutrition Support Steering Committees in several leading health institutions across Nigeria.
“These committees are actively improving nutrition screening, early intervention, and multidisciplinary collaboration in patient care,” she said.
The fifth conference, themed “Sustainable Clinical Nutrition Services: Ensuring Access, Safety and Collaboration,” will focus on expanding access to nutrition support and strengthening multidisciplinary care systems, with special attention on neonatal and paediatric nutrition.
Also speaking, the Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, Dr. Ekeneam Omo, described the conference as an opportunity to strengthen the institution’s approach to tackling malnutrition.
“Before now, we had specialists handling malnutrition in their various units. However, with this awareness created by WASPEN, we hope to adopt a hospital-wide approach,” he said.
Omo added that FMC Asaba is putting in place the necessary facilities and logistics and is working closely with the Delta State Government to ensure the conference’s success.
