VP Shettima Describes Nigeria’s Malnutrition Crisis As National Emergency

Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has sounded the alarm about the country’s growing malnutrition crisis.

Speaking at the National Summit on Nutrition and Food Security organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security as part of the House Open Week activities, the Vice President disclosed that nearly 40 percent of Nigerian children under the age of five are being deprived of both physical growth and cognitive development due to widespread malnutrition.

Speaking at the high-level policy dialogue in Abuja, Vice President Shettima, who was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, emphasized that malnutrition is not just a health issue—but a national emergency threatening the country’s future.

He described the statistics as devastating, warning that the implications extend far beyond individual households and into the heart of Nigeria’s economic and social stability.

Experts say chronic malnutrition in early childhood can cause irreversible damage to brain development, weaken the immune system, and increase vulnerability to disease and death.

Worst affected are the northern regions of Nigeria prompting humanitarian organizations and government agencies to intensify calls for targeted nutrition programs, greater investment in maternal and child healthcare, and stronger coordination at all levels of government.

The Vice President’s remarks come amid rising food insecurity, inflation, and ongoing conflict in parts of the country—all of which are exacerbating the conditions for Nigeria’s most vulnerable.

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He urged immediate, collective action, warning that the consequences of inaction will be felt for generations.

In his own remarks, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, said malnutrition was costing Nigeria approximately 12.2 percent of its Gross National Income, amounting to an estimated 56 billion dollars annually, with post-harvest losses accounting for an additional 2 billion dollars per year; a development, he said, calls for urgent reforms.

Abbas explained that the Committee on Nutrition and Food Security is collaborating with all 36 states to move beyond policy declarations to on-the-ground implementation.

This, he said, includes capacity-building and multi-sectoral consultations aimed at strengthening systemic responses to nutrition challenges.

According to the United Nations agency for children, UNICEF, Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children die to malnutrition in the world.

(Editor: Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie)