GAIN laments 79 per cent food insecurity in Nigerian households

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), has expressed worry over recent data which shows that about 79 per cent of Nigerian households were experiencing food insecurity as 22 per cent experienced severe food insecurity.

Nigeria’s Country Director of GAIN, Dr Michael Ojo at a press conference to mark 20 years anniversary in Abuja pointed out that indices like rusting in children under five have worsened and it is now 11.5 per cent.

Ojo said, “it used to be 7 per cent adding that underweight, which is when children don’t have the right weight for their age is 25.3 per cent as It used to be 22 per cent.

“Also, iron deficiency is still high in the population as anaemia is 62 per cent in women of reproductive age. It is 55 per cent but in pregnant women, it is 86 per cent across the country.

“These are some of the statistics that are coming out of the survey which also shows that malnutrition is a ticking time bomb and we need to continue to focus on it in Nigeria.”

Nonetheless, Ojo said, the survey revealed that stunting among children has improved as some of the indicators are stunting in children under five.

According to Ojo, “stunting is when children have not attained the height that is expected of their age because of malnutrition.

“It has actually improved slightly from where we were in 2018 which was the last figure that we had from the National Demographic and Health Survey (NHS) when it was 37 per cent.”

Ojo however, encouraged low-income earners to grow some of the food they consume to maintain a nutritious diet.

“There are quite a few things low-income earners can do. In Nigeria, most of us buy the food we eat. Nigeria perhaps has the highest percentage of people buying what they eat. So most of us don’t produce what we consume.

“So, we can produce some of what we eat. People underestimate the opportunities that exist to grow some of these things, especially things that are nutritious such as vegetables that you can grow in buckets.

“Buy a couple of birds and obtain eggs from them every day or even for poultry needs. Have a small tank to grow some fish for consumption,” he added.

Similarly, the Head of EatSafe Country Programs, Augustine Okoruwa, also disclosed that GAIN is currently handling a project called “eat safe” which is evidence and action towards safe nutritious food.

Okoruwa further said the aim is to enable lasting improvements in the supply of safe foods in traditional markets by focusing on the traditional food market where the majority of households purchase their food.

He said: “If these traditional markets where we purchase our food, don’t have interest in providing safe, nutritious food, we will continue to buy and we will continue to eat and experience health consequences such as foodborne diseases which will start showing over a period of time.”

Also speaking, the Head of Policy Advocacy and Communications Joyce Akpata said GAIN is currently running 10 projects in 16 states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi Jigawa Nasarawa, FCT, Niger, Oyo, Osun, Anambra, Ebonyi, Cross, River, Delta, Rivers, Lagos, Benue and Plateau.

Akpata said the project was aimed at reducing malnutrition by making safe and nutritious foods more affordable for the most vulnerable in society.

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