From: Okwe Obi and Samuel Bello, Abuja
The Federal Government, on Tuesday, said that the nation has the highest number of mal-nourished children.
Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, stated this at the flag-off ceremony of 2017 Nigeria Nutrition week themed “Improved Nutrition and Empowerment”.
The minister, while commemorating the week, said a number of activities had been articulated such as road works, advocacy improvements in churches and mosques as well as public enlightenment aimed at behavioural change towards healthy diet by the general public.
“Investment in nutrition is investment in human capacity and education and sustainable growth in the country. To provide a platform to intensify the importance of nutrition and its impact on development, she said.
In her remarks, wife of the President and Nutrition ambassador, Aisha Buhari, urged stakeholders and development partners to key into the promotion for breastfeeding.
The President’s wife who was represented by a former Deputy Governor of Plateau State, Pauline Tallen, noted that breast-feeding would save lives, bolster economies and contribute to better health outcomes for women and children.
She said: “Breastfeeding would provide numerous health and economic benefits, increase exclusive breastfeeding rates can avert 100,000 infant deaths annually in Nigeria and add more than $150 million dollars to the Nigerian economy each year.”
“It is a fundamental driver in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030”