No fewer than 2.5 million children under five years suffer from Acute Malnutrition (SAM) yearly in Nigeria.
The Chief Executive Officer of International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH), Mrs Moji Makanjuola, said this on Thursday in Bauchi during a one-day meeting with journalists and civil society organisations organised ISMPH.
Makanjuola said that UNICEF statistics indicates that 420,000 children out of the figure died yearly from malnutrition in the country.
She described the situation as “an extremely dangerous condition that makes children nine times most likely to die from common childhood illness”.
Makanjuola named diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria as some of the childhood illness that had taken the lives of such innocent children.
She noted that SAM was widespread in the northern part of the country, though all states of the country were affected.
Makanjuola regretted that over N21, 350 was needed to cure a child suffering from SAM, but regretted that the “political will of government is not there’’.
She said that there was need to increase investment in child health and nutrition as health is recognised as a fundamental human right.
“Right to healthy living is still a far cry for the Nigerian citizens, because the nexus with right to life was still not practicable.
“I urge journalists and CSOs to, through their reportage and advocacy, prevail on governments and philanthropists to assist.