The year 2020 was an unusual one in every sense of
the word. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic made sure of this. To remove any
doubt about the threat that the virus posed to every country in the world, the
World Health Organisations (WHO) recognised the COVID-19 as a global pandemic.
Today, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic is global.
There is hardly anyone who has not been affected by the pandemic to some
degree. In a country like Nigeria, it has precipitated mental, emotional,
social, business-related and financial impact.
Nigeria is home to over 230 million people, the bulk
of whom are young. While the country has experienced relatively small numbers
of COVID-19 deaths, the resurgence of a second wave is a cause for concern.
Another cause for concern is the growing incidence of severe poverty and
malnutrition. About 40 per cent of the nation’s population continues to live on
less than $1.90 US dollars a day.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently
released a poverty and inequality report which highlighted that over 83 million
Nigerians are extremely poor. This report, which is a basis for measuring
poverty and living standards in the country, is used to estimate a wide range
of socio-economic indicators, including benchmarking of the Sustainable
Development Goals.
Indeed, many children and families still lack access
to affordable nutritious foods. This often results in a lack of essential
nutrients in their daily diet, which can lead to severe malnutrition and
protein deficiency. Protein deficiency is a negative nutritional condition
produced by a deficiency of proteins in the body.
Experts indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic and the
resulting economic downturn will probably further aggravate these issues.
In many ways, the pandemic seems to have helped to
shed light on what is really important in the world today, and that is good
health.
Evidently, an essential ingredient of good health is
good and affordable nutrition. As the year 2021 progresses, Nigeria needs to
tackle the challenge of malnutrition and protein deficiency, coupled with the
pandemic.
To achieve this, some key solutions must be
implemented and adapted to suit the needs of the average Nigerian. This
requires a significant level of expertise and insight on the poverty and
malnutrition problem in the country.
First, the government needs to deal with the
malnutrition problem directly. This can be done by reducing the price of
healthy food crops nationwide, reducing the cost of seedlings and arable crops
being sold to farmers, thereby increasing the affordability and accessibility
of agricultural inputs. This will increase food availability to a large extent,
which will curb malnutrition.
The government should also implement agricultural
development projects (ADPs) across Nigeria. These agricultural development
projects will play a facilitating role in the production of crops, livestock,
and aquaculture. For the vast majority of Nigerians, food production and
agriculture must be embedded and promoted in every community to increase food
availability and accessibility. The government has a responsibility to provide
safe, affordable and nutritious food crops to the populace to mitigate the
levels of hunger and starvation in the nation.
Secondly, the government needs to make health care
affordable by creating more hospitals and health centres in the north eastern
states with high malnutrition rates, while sustaining ongoing health programmes
such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Food and Drug
Programme (FDP).
The government can liaise with foreign health
organisations like the World Health Organisation and the United Nations
International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to provide quality healthcare
to malnourished children and individuals.
Of course, there must be sensitization and awareness
campaigns in rural communities on dietary changes, eating of fortified foods
that contain valuable nutrients, and locally available food sources that are
healthy and nutritious. Foods like soybeans, awara, bambara, okpa, groundnuts, and
egusi are rich in nutrients that nourish the body.
Finally, non-governmental organisations can visit
villages and communities to provide local food options and to educate malnourished
locals on eating a healthy, balanced diet.
Nigeria has the potential to surmount all the
aforementioned difficulties if these solutions can be properly and effectively
implemented.
The key is proper planning.
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