EARLY NUTRITION AND HEALTH: SHORT- & LONG- TERM OUTCOMES

Nutrition relates to the intake and utilization of nutrients for the maintenance of health and prevention of diseases. Undernutrition affects mainly children less than 5years and is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in children.

Globally, 6,000 additional children under five could die every day. An additional 950 Nigerian children could die every day from preventable causes over the next six months as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts routine services and threatens to weaken the health system, UNICEF said today.

A two-way link exists between malnutrition & poverty, creating a vicious cycle with each fuelling the other. Malnutrition produces conditions of poverty by reducing the economic potential of the population and poverty reinforces malnutrition by increasing the risk of food insecurity

Food security is a complex sustainable development issue, linked to health through malnutrition, but also to sustainable economic development, environment, and trade. It is built on 3 pillars: Food availability, food access, and food use.

Undernutrition impairs physical growth and cognitive development, after the age of 2 years damage is usually irreversible. Therefore, it is crucial to fight malnutrition during pregnancy and the first 2 years of the child, i.e., the 1000 days between conception and the child’s second birthday