…As Stakeholders Warn of Poor Nutrition Culture
By Joyce Remi Babayeju
The alarming burden of malnutrition among children under five and pregnant women in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has sparked renewed calls for urgent investment in nutrition interventions, as the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) advocates increased support through the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF).
At a one-day State Level Media Dialogue and Stakeholders Engagement in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of CS-SUNN, Sunday Okoronkwo, urged the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to scale up funding for nutrition by fully leveraging the CNF initiative.
The CNF, a UNICEF-supported financing mechanism, is designed to help countries double investments in essential nutrition commodities for the prevention and treatment of severe and acute malnutrition, including stunting, wasting, and underweight in children, as well as anemia in pregnant women.
Okoronkwo stressed the need to “unbundle” the CNF to unlock sustainable nutrition financing that would significantly improve maternal and child health outcomes while strengthening human capital development in the territory.
Available data presented at the meeting revealed a stark funding gap. While the FCT requires an estimated ₦29.8 billion annually for nutrition interventions, only ₦5 billion is currently allocated, leaving a deficit of over 83 percent.
The gap in the treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) among children under five stands at over 1.6 million, with a wasting rate of 7 percent, translating to more than 116,000 affected children.
Treating a single child costs approximately $160, underscoring the scale of investment required.
Stakeholders warned that the FCT is grappling with a complex malnutrition crisis, as 16 percent of children under five are stunted, 7 percent wasted, and 22 percent underweight.
Even more concerning is the low rate of exclusive breastfeeding, with only 29 percent of infants receiving optimal feeding in their first six months of life.
Micronutrient deficiencies also remain widespread. Nearly half of women of reproductive age and about two-thirds of children under five suffer from anemia—conditions that experts say have long-term implications for cognitive development, educational attainment, and economic productivity.
Highlighting the severity of the situation, the FCT Nutrition Officer, Chinyere Ekwueme, described the nutrition landscape as “appalling,” attributing it largely to food insecurity and poor feeding practices.
She noted that only 36 out of every 100 newborns in the FCT are breastfed within the first hour of birth, while exclusive breastfeeding rates remain at just 39 percent.
“Investment in breastfeeding practices is poor, and children are being deprived of the best start in life,” she said, calling for urgent behavioural change among residents.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of the FCT Primary Health Care Board, Ruqayya Wamako, emphasized the need for stronger political commitment to nutrition, urging the FCT Minister to prioritize the sector.
Wamako decried the uneven distribution of nutrition commodities by development partners and called on UNICEF to review its allocation formula for Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) across the territory.
She further advocated the expansion of Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) distribution across primary healthcare facilities and stressed the importance of training healthcare workers to effectively deliver these interventions to pregnant women.
In addition, she underscored the need for accurate population data through comprehensive community-level census efforts to enable better planning and resource allocation.
Beyond funding and commodities, CS-SUNN also highlighted policy gaps, particularly the need to implement a six-month paid maternity leave in the FCT.
According to Okoronkwo, such a policy would significantly improve child survival, promote optimal breastfeeding practices, and enhance workforce productivity.
“By adopting this intervention, the FCT will be taking a bold step towards safeguarding the health of its youngest citizens while also building a more resilient and productive society,” he said.
As stakeholders continue to push for reforms, the consensus remains clear: without urgent investment, improved nutrition practices, and stronger policy implementation, the FCT risks deepening a crisis that threatens the health and future of its most vulnerable population.
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