How iron supplement can prevent child malnutrition — Nestle
NIGERIA remains one of the countries where malnutrition holds sway. For most people, the malnutrition situation in Nigeria can best be described as a “ticking time bomb”, particularly in some parts of the Northern part of the country where child malnutrition is projected to increase to 2 million in 2023, up from 1.74 million last year by the United Nations. With a UNICEF report showing that 5 in 10 children under five years old suffer from the effects of malnutrition, experts say the major cause of malnutrition in Nigeria remains micronutrient deficiencies, also known as hidden hunger and that Iron fortification and supplementation is key to ending child malnutrition. In the views of a nutritionist with Nestle Nutrition Institute Central West African Region, Dr. Kanalio Olaloku, micronutrients are vitamins and minerals needed by the body in very small amounts but their impact on a body’s health is critical, and deficiency in any of them can cause severe and even life-threatening condit...