Vice President Shettima says Nigeria loses $56 billion yearly to malnutrition, calling it a major threat to development and urging urgent action to combat it.
Nigeria loses an estimated $56 billion in human capital annually due to malnutrition equivalent to 12.2 percent of the nation’s income. He described the situation as a “tragic setback” that fuels poverty and undermines national growth.
Speaking at the “Mobilizing Against Malnutrition in Northwest Nigeria” conference organised by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on Thursday in Abuja, Shettima, represented by Uju Rochas-Anwukah, said thousands of children and pregnant women die yearly from malnutrition-related causes.
“When a nation’s child suffers from stunted growth, his future becomes stunted,” he said. “Nutrition must not be seen as a cost but as an investment. Every dollar invested yields a return of $23.”
Shettima highlighted the Nutrition 774 initiative and reforms by the National Council on Nutrition to promote sustainable financing and accountability.
Katsina Governor Dikko Radda described malnutrition as “an emergency undermining the future of children,” while Health Minister Muhammad Pate and MSF’s Dr. Ahmed Aldikhari urged urgent, coordinated action to save lives and secure Nigeria’s future.