The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating malnutrition in Nigeria through collaborative, community-based strategies and sustained policy implementation.
This assurance was delivered by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, during the 2025 Clinical Nutrition Conference of the West African Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (WASPEN), held on Wednesday in Abuja.
Prof. Pate, who was represented by the Director of the Nutrition Information System, Dr Emmanuel Abata emphasized the urgency of addressing malnutrition, describing it as a persistent public health burden in Nigeria.
“Malnutrition remains a critical public health challenge with far-reaching implications for both the health system and economic productivity,” he said.
Pate stressed the need for continuous nutritional care beyond hospital settings:
“Our collective responsibility is to ensure that nutrition support does not end at hospital discharge but continues seamlessly into the community.”
He highlighted several key federal interventions, including the N774 Programme—a multi-sectoral initiative delivering nutritional support to all 774 Local Government Areas in the country. Additional measures include:
- Scaling up the training of frontline healthcare workers.
- Implementing the National Guidelines for Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition.
- Distributing nutritional commodities to states.
- Strengthening partnerships with professional bodies like WASPEN to advance research, policy development, and community outreach.
Also speaking at the conference, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary of the FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, expressed concern about the dual burden of malnutrition—undernutrition and overnutrition—particularly in urban centers like the FCT.
Represented by the Director-General of the FCTA Hospital Management Board, Dr Olugbenga Bello, Fasawe remarked, “Many middle-aged men have protruding stomachs—this too is malnutrition.”
She noted that parenteral nutrition remains inaccessible to many Nigerians, but affirmed the government’s willingness to support local manufacturing of such products. Fasawe also urged pharmaceutical companies to partner with government to create affordable, locally adapted nutritional solutions.
The Chairman of the Conference, Prof. Cyril Osifo presented alarming statistics, noting that over 37% of Nigerian children—about six million—are stunted, while two million suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
“Malnutrition and food insecurity are major threats to human development, with poverty as the root cause. We need education, policy reform, better food preservation, and improved sanitation,” he stated.
He highlighted the problem of post-discharge malnutrition, saying many patients relapse or die due to poor nutrition at home.
“Sometimes patients say they’ve lost appetite, but in reality, they cannot afford food,” he added.
WASPEN President, Dr Teresa Pounds, called for mandatory nutritional screening for all hospitalised patients.
“We want a system where every admitted patient is assessed for nutritional status,” she said.
Dr Pounds emphasized the importance of access to parenteral nutrition for patients unable to eat and advocated for the creation of dedicated teams—including dietitians, nurses, pharmacists, and physicians—to manage such cases.
She disclosed that WASPEN is collaborating with private partners to begin local production of parenteral nutrition formulas in Nigeria, with a pilot project already underway.
The annual WASPEN conference, she added, is aimed at building the capacity of healthcare professionals and highlighting the critical role of clinical nutrition in patient recovery and long-term health.
