+Childhood Crises
About 2 million children suffering from severe wasting are facing life-threatening risks due to a shortage of funds for Ready-to-use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), which is critical for treating this most severe form of malnutrition, a report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) shows.
If these children are lucky, they may be salvaged. If not, the world might once again witness the loss of a generation brimming with untapped potential.
Child wasting and other forms of acute malnutrition are the result of maternal malnutrition, high cost of food, poor feeding and care practices, exacerbated by food insecurity, climate crises, limited access to safe drinking water, and poverty.
For a child suffering from severe wasting, the risk of death multiplies.
Childhood Crises
About 45 million children under five are experiencing wasting globally, a form of malnutrition, identified as the direct or underlying cause of 45% of all deaths of under-five children.
In Nigeria, under-5 children are wasting away at a rate of 6.5%, while 31.5% are stunted and 1.6% are overweight.
While the prevalence of these three forms of malnutrition has declined over the years, the warm and calm blood of innocent kids still silently fades.
As their bodies weaken under the quiet grip of hunger, it reminds us that steady progress has yet to reach the most fragile among us.
This is the harsh reality for children across Africa, yet the youngest in Nigeria suffer even more, with under-fives wasting away faster than the average child in Africa.
Mauritania has the highest percentage of under-5 children who are affected by wasting with Nigeria ranking 12th among the top African countries with the highest prevalence of child wasting.
About 34.2% of children under the age of five in Nigeria suffer from stunting, having a low height for their age, a rate that exceeds the African average of 25.5%.
UNICEF identified that wasting, stunting, and being underweight in under-five children are forms of acute malnutrition and are influenced by various factors. Rising inflation and food prices are jeopardising healthy diets, making it increasingly difficult for people in many countries to get food that meets their daily nutritional requirements.
Cost of Hunger
The fragile bodies of Nigeria’s under-five children tell a story of a deeper crisis.
A crisis that starts at the heart of the home—with mothers and fathers struggling to access food or afford the simplest nutritious meal to hold their bodies together.
When a mother’s plate is empty or her diet imbalanced, the effect flows directly to her child.
The nourishment she lacks becomes the child’s struggle—manifesting in stunted growth, weakened immunity, and a life shaped by the consequences of hunger before they even take their first steps.
This is the reality of an average Nigerian who now pays 32.9% more each day to afford the cheapest healthy diet compared to 2017.
The cost of a healthy diet (CoHD) is the national-level estimate of the cost of acquiring the cheapest possible healthy diet in a country, defined as a diet comprising a variety of locally available foods that meet energy and nutritional requirements. The CoHD is then compared with national income distributions to estimate the prevalence of unaffordability and the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet.