420, 000 Nigerian children die annually of malnutrition ― CISLAC

IT has been discovered that about 420, 000 children under the age of five years in Nigeria are being exposed to early deaths annually as a result of malnutrition militating against their survival.

The disclosure was made by the Program Manager of an NGO, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Mrs Chioma Kanu Abba during a high-level political dialogue organized by the Centre for Civil Society Organizations and Media on effective Primary Healthcare for prevention and treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) held at Destination Hotel, Bauchi on Tuesday.

According to her, over 2.6 million children under five years across the country suffer from malnutrition which makes them liable to die from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria.

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She said that in Bauchi state, a total of 21, 457 children were admitted into malnutrition cure program in 2017 adding that 94 per cent were healed while 3.8 per cent death was registered.

Mrs Chioma further explained that the CISLAC is a non-governmental organization that deals with advocacy, information sharing, research, capacity building and strengthening the link between civil society, legislature and policymakers on governance issues.

This is even as she noted that the centre through its engagement of the governance processes in Nigeria has facilitated the enactment of several primary legislation such as the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Public Procurement Act, and Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Act among others in recent times.