Due to financial hardships, Idowu Bello, a 56-year-old lady in Nigeria who suffers from kidney issues and chronic fatigue, finds it difficult to maintain a healthy diet. Her meals consist of cheap basics like melon soup with dried cowhide (ponmo) and eba, a starchy dish derived from cassava root. She frequently cooks using gas or wood, depending on what she can buy. Foods like seafood, meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables are too expensive, even though her doctor has advised her to consume a nutrient-rich diet to enhance her health and promote her teenage daughter’s growth.
In an effort to combat pervasive malnutrition, the Nigerian government is implementing a voluntary set of guidelines for adding iron, zinc, folic acid, and vitamin B12 to bouillon cubes. This program attempts to address “hidden hunger,” which is a term used to characterize shortages in vital micronutrients. In Nigeria, reinforced bouillon cubes have the potential to avert thousands of deaths from neural tube defects and up to 16.6 million cases of anemia, according to a report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
79% of Nigerian households experience food insecurity.
Economic hardships like the recent elimination of gasoline Subsidies and environmental problems like climate change, which have interrupted Agriculture and caused food shortages and inflation, worsen Malnutrition in Nigeria. According to a government poll, 79% of Nigerian households experience food insecurity. In order to enhance the nutritional intake of millions of people in Nigeria and other African nations where bouillon cubes are commonly consumed, Helen Keller International, in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, advocates for the fortification of bouillon cubes.
The numbers show that the situation is severe. The National Bureau of Statistics estimates that over 10 million children in Nigeria have stunted growth and that chronic malnutrition affects roughly 21.4% of children under five. Furthermore, according to World Bank projections, the nation’s Inflation rate hit 18.6% in 2021, which had a big impact on food costs. The cost of life has increased due to the recent withdrawal of Petroleum subsidies; in January 2023, food inflation reached 24.35%. Food Insecurity is made worse by this economic burden, especially for the forty percent of Nigerians who live in poverty.
Numerous areas of farmland have been damaged by floods and droughts.
These problems have been made worse by climate change. Unpredictable rains and intense heat have severely impacted Nigeria’s agricultural sector, especially in the Sahel region. According to a report published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), food insecurity caused by Climate Change may cause growth issues for up to 7 million additional children in West Africa by the year 2050. Numerous areas of farmland have already been damaged by floods and droughts, which has resulted in a shortage of staple crops like rice and maize and raised food costs.
With respect to the bouillon cube fortification initiative, the Nigerian government would collaborate with manufacturers to establish standards for the incorporation of micronutrients like iron, zinc, folic acid, and vitamin B12 in these products through the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON). The difficulty is in making sure that producers follow these voluntary guidelines and that reinforced cubes are efficiently delivered throughout the nation, particularly in rural areas where the worst levels of food insecurity occur. The addition of these nutrients may result in higher production costs, which could translate into higher consumer pricing. Cost is another major obstacle. To reduce these expenses and promote broad adoption, public-private partnerships and subsidies might be investigated.
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International organizations and private citizens alike can help Nigeria combat malnutrition in a number of ways. Contributions to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that engage directly with impacted communities, such as Action Against Hunger or Helen Keller International, can assist support important solutions. Expanding social safety nets like school Nutrition programs or supporting policy lobbying for fortified food subsidies could potentially have a big impact. Last but not least, spreading knowledge about the connection between Nigerian health and nutrition might aid in gaining international support and influencing legislative changes that give Food Security the top priority.