The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has appealed to governments at all levels and relevant stakeholders to increase nutrition budgeting to reverse the malnutrition trend among Nigerian children.

UNICEF nutrition officer Nkeiru Enwelum made the appeal on Wednesday in Port Harcourt during a two-day media dialogue on ‘Nutrition Financing in Nigeria’.

Ms Enwelu added that more funding was required to help carry out sensitisation and advocacy campaigns in remote areas and provide succour for children facing severe malnutrition in the country.

Citing the National Demographic and Health Survey 2018, Ms Enwelum said about 12 million out of the 35 million under-five children in Nigeria were stunted due to malnutrition.

Ms Enwelum listed the forms of malnutrition as acute malnutrition, severe wasting, stunting and obesity, describing stunting to be a form of malnutrition which occurs when a child is low height for his age and stunting as a form of malnutrition referred to as chronic malnutrition because it happens over a long period.

The UNICEF officer disclosed that Nigeria ranks first in Africa on data on malnourished children and second globally. She also said about one million people suffer from acute food insecurity, adding that about 17.7 million people are hungry in Nigeria.

Ms Enwelum said, “The states with the highest number of people suffering from food insecurity in Nigeria are Kano and Lagos. In spite of the fact that Kano, Borno, Katsina and Lagos rank high on the food insecurity ladder, malnutrition is widespread in the country, affecting people living in other parts of the country.

“Some of the diseases or resultant body malfunctions arising from malnutrition are micronutrient deficiency, anaemia, rickets and vitamin A deficiency.”

(NAN)