About 15 million of Nigeria‘s estimated 38 million children under the age of five are stunted, while 10 million suffer from wasting and another 12 million are anaemic, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed, highlighting the country’s growing child nutrition crisis.

UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Ngozi Onuora, disclosed the figures during a two-day Zonal Media Dialogue on advocacy messages for the 20’6 World Breastfeeding Week in Enugu, where the organisation called on journalists to intensify public awareness campaigns on breastfeeding and infant nutrition.

Onuora further disclosed that two out of every three Nigerian children aged six to 23 months suffer from food poverty, while the same proportion are not exclusively breastfeed.

She also noted that 46 per cent of children in Benue State are malnourished, with only 20 per cent attaining normal growth, underscoring the urgent need for stronger interventions.

The media dialogue, themed “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works,” brought together journalists from Benue, Imo, Cross River and Enugu states to strengthen media advocacy for breastfeeding, child nutrition and maternal health.

In his contribution, Social Behaviour Change Communication Specialist and Officer-in-Charge of the UNICEF Enugu Field Office, Dr. Hilary Ozoh, reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to improving the lives, nutrition, survival, and development of every child. (The Nation)

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