The National Hospital Abuja and the West African Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (WASPEN) have called for an urgent reform in order to tackle the challenges facing the Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
The duo called on the Federal Government to establish a multi-sectoral national task force to combat hospital malnutrition.
This was stated during a press conference held on Monday in Abuja ahead of the forthcoming 2025 Clinical Nutrition Conference.
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The two institutions during the press conference, unveiled a coordinated plan to integrate nutrition into mainstream hospital care, urging the Federal Government to establish a multidisciplinary task force dedicated to combating hospital-based malnutrition.
PEN, Dr Teresa Pounds while speaking, noted that nutrition should not be treated as an afterthought in clinical care.
She said, “We can no longer treat nutrition as an afterthought in clinical care. Many patients are admitted in fragile nutritional states and leave even worse. Without structured screening and intervention, we are allowing a silent epidemic to persist”.
She said that the conference, themed “Bridging the Gap: Integrating Hospital and Community Malnutrition Care in Developing Countries”, is scheduled for June 17–19 in Abuja and will bring together medical professionals, academics, and policymakers from across Nigeria and West Africa.
Pound while speaking further stressed that WASPEN’s goal is to support hospitals with tools for early detection, training, and evidence-based interventions to address malnutrition not only during hospitalization, but also after discharge.
Speaking, The Chief Medical Director of National Hospital Abuja, Professor Muhammad Raji Muhamud who was represented by the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of the hospital, Dr. Isiaka Lawal acknowledged that hospital-based malnutrition is a pervasive issue, particularly in tertiary facilities that serve patients from underserved and rural regions.
He said, “We receive patients in advanced states of malnutrition from states as far as Sokoto, Kebbi, and Katsina. Many are children or post-surgical cases, arriving with severe nutritional deficits that complicate treatment”.
He said that the the hospital currently employs a multidisciplinary approach involving dietitians, doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists — but more support and coordination are needed to scale such efforts across the country.
Adding that partnership with WASPEN gives a framework to improve outcomes and extend its reach into primary care.
“This partnership with WASPEN gives us a framework to improve outcomes and extend our reach into primary care. We’re now building systems to intervene earlier and ensure patients receive continuity of nutritional care after discharge.”
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