By Asma’u Ahmad
Parents in Ilorin, Kwara state have identified poverty as the major cause of child malnutrition in the country.
The parents, who spoke with newsmen, expressed displeasure that malnutrition had become a major crisis in many homes.
Mr. Aminu Olalekan, a father of three, said the state of the nation’s economy was taking its toll on access to nutritious foods for mothers and children.
According to him, only parents with good income can keep a well-fed and healthy child.
“I am a father of three children and I can tell you that it is not easy to provide for the children, particularly in this period of economic recession. The poverty rate in the country has increased the risk of malnutrition; people are hungry; there is limited access to food and as a result little care is given to children,” Olalekan said.
Another parent, Mrs Rukayat Ganiyu, who was nursing a six-month-old baby, said she adopted exclusive breastfeeding because she could not afford baby food.
The nursing mother said her husband earned a minimum wage which could not provide enough nutrients for their children.
“I prefer to breastfeed my baby most of the time because I don’t have money to buy baby foods: Sometimes I don’t even feed well myself,” the nursing mother said.
Mrs. Fatima Sa’ad, another parent, however, explained that besides poverty, most parents and caregivers didn’t have adequate information on proper food combinations with required nutrients for their children.
She said malnutrition not only slowed down child development but also resulted in death and called for adequate measures to reduce it to the barest minimum.
She urged government to address the current state of the nation’s economy to reduce the factors contributing to malnutrition among children.
