By Haruna Gimba
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in its latest Goalkeepers report, has highlighted the transformative potential of fortifying common food items in Nigeria to combat child malnutrition.
The report, titled, “A Race to Nourish a Warming World,” was made available to newsmen on Wednesday by the foundation.
It said that fortifying bouillon cubes with iron, folic acid, zinc, and vitamin B12 could prevent up to 16.6 million cases of anaemia and avert 11,000 deaths from neural tube defects by 2050.
The report said that simple proven solutions like these could drastically reduce malnutrition in countries like Nigeria, where climate change is worsening the hunger crisis.
Speaking in the report, Mrs Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, Director of Nutrition at the Nigerian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare called for improved access to essential nutrients for children.
She said that without access to the essential nutrients that children under five need to grow, thrive, and lead healthy lives, they are being robbed of their future.
The Gates Foundation warned that the global child malnutrition crisis was set to worsen without immediate action.
“By 2050, an additional 40 million children worldwide will suffer from stunting, failing to grow to their full potential. 28 million more could face wasting, a life-threatening condition caused by severe malnutrition,” it said.
The report said that the worsening child malnutrition crisis was being exacerbated by climate change, which was expected to drive food insecurity, especially in low-income countries.
However, it also highlighted a troubling decline in foreign aid to Africa, where more than half of global child deaths occur.
“The percentage of foreign aid directed to African nations has dropped from 40 per cent in 2010 to just 25 per cent in 2024, the lowest in 20 years,” it said.
The report also quoted Mr Bill Gates, co-chair of the foundation, as calling on world leaders to address this disparity and increase investment in global health, particularly in Africa.
“Malnutrition is the world’s worst child health crisis, and climate change is only making it worse. We must act now to protect millions of children from preventable diseases and malnutrition,” Gates urged.
The report highlighted innovations that were already delivering results in the fight against child malnutrition.
“In Ethiopia, fortifying salt with iodine and folic acid could reduce anaemia by four per cent and eliminate up to 75 per cent of deaths and stillbirths caused by neural tube defects.
“Additionally, scaling up the use of high-quality prenatal vitamins for pregnant women in low-income countries, including Nigeria, could save nearly half a million lives by 2040.
“It could also improve birth outcomes for 25 million babies,” it said.
It said that malnutrition not only threatened lives but also came with a steep economic price.
“The World Bank estimates that the global cost of undernutrition is three trillion dollars in lost productivity annually.
“In low-income countries, this loss can account for as much as 16 per cent of GDP, a permanent drag on economic growth,” it said.
The Gates Foundation called on governments to fully fund global health initiatives like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
It said that by addressing malnutrition, the world can unlock wider benefits, including improved effectiveness of vaccines and the reduction of deadly diseases like malaria and pneumonia.
“If we solve malnutrition, we make it easier to solve every other problem, highlighting that these investments can spur economic growth and resilience in the face of climate change,” he said.
