How nutrition is saving children’s lives – Nigerian Observer

For many mothers across Anambra State, the struggle with child malnutrition is no longer told only through statistics, but through lived experiences shaped by fear, fragile hope, and gradual recovery.

In Onitsha North, Mrs Ijeoma Okoye recalls deep anxiety watching her one-year-three-month-old daughter fail to meet basic developmental milestones, unable to sit, crawl, or walk like other children.

She took the child to a health centre where nurses weighed her, discovered severe underweight at 2.5 kilogrammes, and linked her delayed development and weakness directly to prolonged malnutrition.

Health workers explained the condition and provided packs of Healthy Living Pap, advising consistent feeding as treatment, while reassuring the worried mother that improvement was possible with proper nutrition.

After one month, Okoye noticed improved appearance and weight gain; after three months, her daughter weighed 3.5 kilogrammes and began attempting to crawl, bringing visible relief and renewed optimism.

Similar testimonies emerged across communities. In Awka North, Mrs Chinenye Okpala said her constantly ill one-year-old weighed just two kilogrammes before receiving nutritional intervention at the centre.

After three months of feeding her child with the pap, Okpala reported weight gain beyond three kilogrammes and marked improvement in overall health, reducing frequent illnesses and hospital visits.

For Mrs Success Ukor from Ekwusigo, the transformation in her two-year-old son became visible within weeks, as his skin glowed, strength improved, and weight increased significantly.

She explained that her son’s weight rose from 8.2 kilogrammes to 10.8 kilogrammes after consistent feeding with Healthy Living Pap, restoring energy, appetite, and a healthier appearance.

Mrs Ngozika Chukwudum also observed changes in her previously weak and inactive child, who rarely played like peers before nurses recommended the nutritional supplement.

Within one month, his weight increased from 7.3 kilogrammes to 7.8 kilogrammes, and he became more active and healthy, reassuring his mother about his recovery.

Community leaders noticed the impact. The traditional ruler of Aguleri, Igwe Michael Idigo, confirmed mothers continually testified to the pap’s benefits and visible improvements in children’s wellbeing.

He urged development partners, including UNICEF and World Health Organisation (WHO), to support expanded production, while encouraging parents to seek early intervention rather than waiting until children become severely malnourished.

Healthy Living Pap was launched in August 2024 by Anambra State Governor’s wife, Dr Nonye Soludo, to address the persistent burden of child malnutrition statewide.

Soludo explained the idea emerged after a UNICEF delegation visit highlighted alarming malnutrition levels, including stunting, wasting, and underweight children across several Anambra communities.

She said that statistics revealed many children were unhealthy due to malnutrition, prompting the Healthy Living Initiative to pursue a sustainable solution addressing both acute and mild nutritional deficiencies.

According to her, Healthy Living Pap is a natural complementary meal integrated into the state’s mitigation programme to rescue children with special nutritional needs.

Soludo noted the supplement was distributed free because of food insecurity and socio-economic challenges, particularly affecting rural communities with limited access to balanced diets.

She affirmed that Healthy Living Pap had come to stay, ensuring no child in Anambra State dies as a result of preventable malnutrition.

Medical experts endorsed the initiative. Consultant Paediatrician Dr Chioma Mbachu, said the programme gives every child in Anambra a fair chance at healthy growth.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, described the pap as practical, explaining malnutrition weakens immunity, increases disease vulnerability, and affects academic performance later in life.

Obidike said a structured distribution system operates across all 21 Local Government Areas, with referral centres maintaining databases to monitor children’s progress and recovery.

“More than 14,000 packs have been produced and distributed, achieving recovery rates above 50 percent and significantly reducing child malnutrition across Anambra State.”

State Nutrition Officer Dr Rose Amasiani, described the pap as fortified, nutritious, and produced from locally sourced organic materials correcting deficiencies in children and adults.

Nutritionist, Jane Umeugo at NAUTH, said the supplement transformed malnutrition management, reducing hospital stays from months to about five days for most affected children.

She explained that severely malnourished children often show recovery signs by the third day of supplementation, regaining strength, colour, and appetite quickly.

WHO State Coordinator Dr Mohammed Bonos, commended the initiative as well thought-out, emphasising good nutrition as foundational to a healthy population.

He pledged continued WHO support, including efforts toward regulatory approval, as Anambra intensified actions against child malnutrition amid economic and food security challenges.

Beyond Anambra, other states are intensifying nutrition efforts. In Kwara, the government has called for a coordinated, multi-sectoral approach to nutrition programmes.

The Executive Secretary of the Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Prof. Nusirat Elelu, made the call at the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) Sustainability Meeting.

Elelu emphasised that good nutrition was fundamental to child growth and the future productivity of society, noting that the intervention targeted maternal, infant and child health outcomes across the 16 local government areas of the state.

Similarly, Kaduna State has recorded progress through its Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) services.

The State Nutrition Officer, Ramatu Musa, said 30,089 children were successfully treated for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in 2025, though 60,193 cases were admitted during the same period.

She acknowledged improvements in reducing stunting but warned of rising wasting and underweight rates, underscoring the need for sustained investment, stronger leadership engagement and expanded coverage of nutrition services.

Stakeholders across states agree that political leadership, community engagement and sustained funding remain critical to winning the fight against malnutrition.

As economic and food security challenges persist, initiatives such as Healthy Living Pap continue to offer thousands of Nigerian children a renewed chance to survive, grow and thrive.

(NAN Feature)