COVID-19 seizes battle against malnutrition in Nigeria, complicates worsening scenario
Kindly share this story: Photo: Nigeria Health Watch
Published 26 January 2021
Before the COVID-19, Nigeria has not fared well in dealing with the burden of malnutrition. With the pandemic, DAYO Ojerinde writes that experts fear that the battle against malnutrition could suffer a setback, adding that it will take a collective effort to tackle the menace in the country
On February 28, 2020, Infection Prevention and Control, a Technical Working Group of Nigerians and the Federal Ministry of Health predicted that a total of 921,618 children, aged six to 59 months, would suffer from acute malnutrition in 2020.
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Experts in the Food and Nutrition industry have encouraged Nigerians to regularly consume soybeans as one of the protein-rich foods to curb malnutrition and reduce the high rate of protein deficiency in the country.
They gave the advice at a recent webinar, themed, ‘Nigeria’s Protein Deficiency Challenge: Soybeans To Rescue.’
A professor of Human Nutrition at the Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, noted that Soybeans was one of the protein-rich foods in Nigeria.
Olayiwola said the lack of sufficient protein in the human body would automatically lead to malnutrition.
According to her, protein-rich foods were essential for growth, bodybuilding, repairs and replacement of lost tissues, adding that proteins protect against infections, boost the immune system, support metabolism, as well as provide a source of energy to the human body.