Malnutrition Among Children Worries Dieticians

Members of Dietitians Association of Nigeria (DAN) have expressed deep concern and disappointment over the re-emergence of acute malnutrition among under – five children in Nigeria .

Making their feelings known in a Ten – Point communiqué issued at the end of their Four-Day National Conference on Nutrition and Dietetic Practice, held in Enugu recently, the association regretted that despite their national advocacy campaign for the consumption of adequate diet and improvement in infant feeding practices, there was a re-emergence of severe malnutrition with the resultant increase in morbidity and mortality among under-five children in the country.

They also expressed dismay over the high rate of diet-related non-communicable diseases, including diabetes and hypertension, leading to premature deaths and disability.

The communiqué which was jointly signed by the National President of DAN, Dr. (Mrs.) Chika Ndiokwelu , National Secretary, Mrs Mary-Jane Umeh, and the Local Organizing Committee Chairman, Gerald Ezeani, also noted that nutrition as a key factor for sustainable development of any country was relevant to Nigeria in achieving the millennium development goals 1, 4 and 5.

While commending the Federal Government for its recent approval and circulation of the new scheme of service for dietitians, the group, however, expressed the need for urgent establishment of departments of nutrition and dietetics in some universities in the northern parts of the country as well as raising the level of training of dietitians in line with international standard.

The group therefore expressed happiness that the association has been registered as member of the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations as this will help uplift the practice of nutrition and dietetics in Nigeria to international standard.

According to the communiqué, “the absence of a medical food administration policy in Nigeria to ensure that all patients in our hospitals are provided with adequate diets in line with their disease conditions is also condemned while efforts should be made by the Federal Ministry of Health as a matter of urgency to facilitate the establishment of the Dietitians Registration Council to regulate the training and practice of dietetic practitioners and save the lives of Nigerians from quacks and charlatans.”