Nutrition is an obvious factor in instruction and health growth of a nation. A healthy learner is a effective student. Good nutrition is increasingly perceived as an investment in human capital that yields returns today as well as in the future, while bad nutrition is a treat to the nation. The global loss of group productivity in 1990 is caused by four overlapping types of malnutrition â?? stunting and disorders related to iodine iron and vitamin A scantness â?? amounted to roughly 46 million years of effective disability â?? free life nutrition raises returns on investment in instruction and health care.
A body of literature observed that there is a heavy decline in knowledge in Nigeria from 1980s unlike the past years. Some attributed this decline to the malnutrition during the past civil war. A researcher noted that in the 1980s Nigeria had the bottom number of indigenous engineers of any Third World country. The teaching of English, which is the language of instruction beyond former school, had reached such poor levels that university faculty complained their inability to understand the written work of their students due to ineffective communication there is a lot of quack graduates and workers in the country. By 1990 the accident in instruction was such that it was expected that in few decade to come, there would be insufficient personnel to run essential services of the country. This calls for a serious concentration before the nation losses all her skilled labour force. I have categories these problems into two major nutritional factors, the problem of undernutrition and malnutrition. The purpose of this write â?? up is to characterize the impact of nutrition on the gift and past and essential steps taken to arrest the situation. It will also supply some relevant solutions to the problem.
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Nutritional Problems:
Nigeria as a country is characterized by two major nutritional problems which includes undernutrition and micronutrient. The rest have dinky impact and may be reserved for now.
Undernutrition is characterized by inadequate intake of macronutrients. It often starts in utero and may extend throughout the life cycle. It also spans generations. Undernutrition occurs during pregnancy, childhood and adolescence, and has a cumulative negative impact on the birthweight of hereafter babies. A baby who has suffered intrauterine growth retardation (Iugr) as a fetus is effectively born malnourished, and has a much higher risk of dying in infancy. The consequences of being born malnourished extend into adulthood. during infancy and early childhood, frequent or prolong infections and inadequate intakes of nutrients (particularly energy, iron, protein, vitamin A, and Zinc) may add to the contribution of Iugr to preschool underweight and stunting. In Nigerian situation, infants after period of exclusive breast feeding are followed up with weaning which consist of pap, akamu, ogi, or koko and is made from maize (Zee Mays), millet (pennisetum americanum), or guinea corn (sorghum spp.). Habitancy from low earnings groups seldom feed meat, eggs, or fish to their infants, because of socio-economic factors, taboos, and ignorance.
In Anambra State, Nigeria, Agu observed that pap contained only 0.5% protein and less than 1% fat, as compared with 9% protein and 4% fat in the former corn. This is ordinarily due to poor processing. Akinele and Omotola investigated the energy and protein intake of infants and children of the low earnings group. They reported that about one-third to one-half of the infants suffered varying degrees of malnutrition and 10% were wasted and stunted. A more recent Nigerian National recognize conducted by the Demographic and health recognize (Dhs) in 1990 settled the proportion of underweight children under five years of age (those below â??2Sd weight-for-age ) at 36% together with 12% severely underweight. (below -3 Sd). The prevalence of stunting (below â??2 Sd height â?? for â?? age) was 43% together with 22% severe stunting (below â?? 3Sd) while the levels of wasting and severe wasting were 9% and 2% respectively. In 1986 in Ondo State, Nigeria, Dhs recognize of children aged 6 to 36 months is 28% prevalence for underweight, 32% for stunting, and 7% for wasting.
For adults and older children, it is ordinarily potential to perform an enough protein â?? energy intake by increasing the daily intake of starchy foods of low nutrient density. For infants and small children, however, the volume of the former diets maybe too large to allow the child to ingest all the food essential to cover his or her energy needs. A baby aged four to six months would need 920g of corn gruel to meet daily needs of energy (740 Kcal) and protein (13g). This is an impossible task, considering the size of an in factâ??s stomach.
President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo rightly observed that roughly half of children ages 7-13 in Nigerian are continue underweight. A lot of children and adults go to bed starved and some take one meal a day which mostly consists of carbohydrates.
Micronutrient is another hard nut to break in the area of nutrition. It is the inadequate intake of key vitamins and minerals. It can be observed both among the rural and urban dwellers in Nigeria. The lack of vitamins and minerals ensue in irreversible impairment to child corporal and reasoning development. Apart from the indirect effects on the mother, micronutrient deficiencies during fertilization have serious implications for the developing fetus. Iodine scantness disorders may cause foetal brain damage or still birth (mental retardation, delayed motor development) and stunting. Iodine scantness in during foetal amelioration and infancy has been shown to depress brain quotient levels by 10-15 points. Foliate scantness may ensue in neural tube or other birth defects and preterm delivery, and both iron scantness anemic and vitamin A scantness may have essential implications for the hereafter infantâ??s morbidity and mortality risk, vision, cognitive amelioration sacrifice their quality to concentrate and fully participate in school and socially interact and develop. It is on report that 40% of children under 5 years of age suffer vitamin A deficiency. It is the major cause of preventable, severe optic impairment and blindness in children. The most vulnerable is a high division of pre-schoolchildren and pregnant women who are anemic. These two nutrition problem are enormous in Nigeria situation have a great impact in the cheaper and group life of the country.
The ensue Of nutrition On National Education:
Nutrition has a dynamic and synergistic connection with economic growth through the channel of education. Behrman cites three studies suggesting that, by facilitating cognitive achievement, child nutrition and instruction can significantly growth wages. In utero, baby and child nutrition affects later cognitive achievement and studying capacity during school years, finally increasing the quality of instruction gained as a child, juvenile and adult. Parental instruction affects in utero, baby and child nutrition directly through the quality of care given (Principally maternal) and indirectly through increased household income. Human capital development, primarily through education, has received merited concentration as a key to economic development, but early childhood nutrition has yet to secure the required emphasis as a essential facilitator of instruction and human capital development.
A recent study shows that early childhood nutrition plays a key role in cognitive achievement, leaning capacity and ultimately, household welfare. For example, protein - energy malnutrition (Pem) deficiency, as manifested in stunting is related to lower cognitive amelioration and instruction achievement; low birth weight is related to cognitive deficiencies; iodine scantness in pregnant mothers negatively affects the reasoning amelioration of their children can cause delayed maturation and diminished intellectual performance; iron scantness can ensue in impaired concurrent and hereafter studying capacity. This goes a long way to prove that nutrition have a great impact to national instruction as Nigeria is fully experiencing this ugly impact now and in time to come.
The ensue Of nutrition On health Growth:
A health nation is a wealthy nation. nutrition has a great impact on every nationâ??s growth especially as we can see in Nigeria situation. Inadequate consumption of protein and energy as well as deficiencies in key micronutrient such as iodine, vitamin A and iron are also key factors in the morbidity and mortality of children and adults. Mal-nourished children also have lifetime disabilities and weakened immune systems.
Moreover, malnutrition is related with disease and poor health, which places a further burden on household as well as health care systems. Disease affects a personâ??s amelioration from a very early age. Gastro-enteritis, respiratory infections and malaria are the most prevalent and serious conditions that can affect amelioration in the first three years of life. In factions affect childrenâ??s amelioration by reducing their dietary intake; causing a loss of nutrients; or increasing nutrient request as a ensue of fever.
Malnutrition also plays a essential role in morbidity among adults. The link in the middle of morbidity from persisting disease and mortality, on the one side, and a high body mass index (Bmi), on the other has been recognized and analyzed in industrialized countries primarily for the purpose of determining life insurance risk. A study on Nigerian men and women has shown mortality rates, among chronically energy â?? deficient Habitancy who are mildly, gently and severely underweight to be 40, 140 and 150 percent greater than rates among non-chronically energy â?? deficient people.
A lack of micronutrients also contributes significantly to the burden of disease. Iron scantness is related with malaria, intestinal parasitic infections and persisting infections. persisting iodine scantness causes goiter in adults and Children and also affects reasoning health. Vitamin A scantness significantly increases the risk of severe illness and death from common childhood infections, particularly diarrhoeal diseases and measles. In areas where vitamin A scantness exists, children are on median 50 percent more likely to suffer from acute measles. A Un report states that revision in vitamin A status have been discount in mortality among children aged one to five.
Evaluation Of The gift And Past Efforts:
There have been series of bold step toward solution seeing by government and non-governmental organizations (Ngo) to eradicate mal nutrition and its reacted ensue both in the gift and past, though some proved abortive due to bad government and economic dwindling which characterized the 1980s, to trace this chronologically. In 1983, the U.S. Group for international amelioration (Usaid) began providing aid to the Nigerian Federal and State Ministries of health to organize and implement programs in house planning and child survival. There focus was in three areas, but especially in the government and group services area. It will also be focused on catalyzing the growth and leverage of Ngos working at the community and national levels in health care withhold and democratization. The Usaid committed and 5 million to bilateral aid programs for the period of 1986 to 1996 as Nigeria undertook an initially thriving structural Adjustment program, but later abandon it. Plans to commit 0 million in aid from 1993 to 2000 were interrupted by strains in Us â??Nigeria relations over human right abuses, the failed transition to democracy, and a lack of cooperation from the Nigerian Government on anti â?? narcotics trafficking issues. By the mid â?? 1990â??s these problems resulted in the curtailment of Usa Id activities that might advantage the troops government.
In 1987, The International organize of Tropical Agriculture (Iita), under the essential Researcher Dr. Kenton Dashiell, Launched an ambitions effort in Nigeria to combat thorough malnutrition. They encourage using nutritious prudent soybeans in daily food. They further said that soybeans are about 40% protein â?? rich than any of the common vegetable or animal food source found in Africa. With the increasing of maize, rice and other cereals to the soybeans, the resulting protein meets the standards of the United Nations Food and Agricultural society (Fao). Soybeans also contain about 20% oil which is 85% unsaturated and Cholesterol free. Though that is nice agenda for alleviation of malnutrition started at period, a lot of socio economic thorns hindered its allowable function during this period.
The world health society (Who) in 1987 estimated that there were 3 million cases of guinea worm in Nigeria about 2 percent of the world total of 140 million cases manufacture Nigeria the nation with the top number of guinea worm cases. In affected areas, guinea worm and related complications were estimated to be the major cause of work and school absenteeism.
In August 1987, the federal government launched its former health care plan (Phc), which President Ibrahim Babangida announced as the cornerstone of health policy. Intended to affect the entire national population, its main stated objectives included accelerated health care personnel development; improved collection and monitoring of health data; ensured availability of essential drugs in all areas of the country; implementation an expanded agenda on Immunization (Epi); improved â??nutritionâ?? throughout the country; promotion of health awareness amelioration of a national house health program; and thorough promotion of oral dehydration therapy for rehabilitation of diarrheal disease in baby and children.
The president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002 meeting with the president international Union of Nutritional sciences (Iuns) promised to withhold a best coordination of nutrition activities and programs in Nigeria, he further said that â??the high prevalence of malnutrition is totally unacceptable to this Government and he assured the Iuns president that he would do all potential to ensure that resources are available to heighten household food security greater way to healthcare services and best caring capacity by mothers together with supported for breast feeding promotion.
In the 27th September 2005 Nigerian President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo Lunched the Nasarawa State School feeding agenda at the Laminga former school. The agenda is fully funded and administrated by the state of Nasarawa, which makes it a unique model in Africa today. The epoch manufacture event is in fulfillment of one of the promises of combating malnutrition especially among children whom he observed that many at the age of 7 â?? 13 years are underweight. He further promises to reach out about 27 million children during the advent 10 years. The Nafdac are also helping in arresting the issue of malnutrition through manufacture and enough assessment of food and drugs used in the country.
Other international bodies and Ngo like the World Bank amelioration fund; the world health society (Who); the United Nations agencies (Unicef, Unfpa and Undp); The African amelioration Bank; the Ford and Mc Arthur Foundation etc. All of them have contributed their own quarters to the revision of the nationâ??s health and nutrition.
Conclusion:
The many solution to nutrition can be captured in this slogan, â??Catch them youngâ??â??, Children are most vulnerable to malnutrition in Utero and before they reach three years of age, as growth rates are fastest ad they are most dependent on others for care during this period. However, nutrition intervention, such as school feeding agenda which has started in Nasarawa State among children of school age are also foremost for strengthening studying capacity. Training and nutrition instruction is very important. nutrition instruction can well concentrate into former health care programs. The African Child survival agenda have reduced the high prevalence of malnutrition in many part of cause and an outcome of under nutrition economic losses from undernutrition includes, as percentages of total losses from all causes: foregone human productivity, 10 â?? 15% ; foregone Gdp, % - 10 %.
The government should also use mass media to originate essential concentration when needed. The government should also try to reach out to Habitancy in the rural areas who have lesser way to collection of government interventions. Moreover, improved nutrition is a particularly noteworthy antipoverty intervention because it can be achieved at low cost and it has a life long impact. investment in nutrition is one of the best options for economic growth and best group life.
References:
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2. Kazimi J, Kazimi Hr. Infact feeding practices of the Igbo Ecol Food nutrition 1979; 8: 111 â?? 6.
3. The United Stated Group of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Food, the year book of Agriculteur 1959.
4. Unicef, Strategy for improved nutrition of Children and women in Developing Countries, New york. 1990
5. Acc/Scn, Fourth report on the World nutrition Situation Geneva: Acc / Scn in Collaboration with the International food course study organize N2000.
6. Http ://Www . Unu. Edu/unupress/food/v191 e/cho 6 . Htm
7. Http ://Www. Fao . Org / docrep / 033/ x9800e /x9800 e07 . Htm.
8. http :// Www. Online Nigeria. Com/education/ index.asp.
9. Yu xiaodong. Performance Neede At the national level, The Chinese experiment Scn News amelioration In International Nutrition. No. 32, mid - 2006.
10. Armar Ma. Maternal energy status lactational capacity and baby growth in rural Ghana: a study of the interaction of cultural and biological Doctoral thesis, University of London, 1989
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