... As CS-SUNN tasks media to drive action
Nigeria's anaemia and malnutrition crisis has reached critical levels, with experts warning it now threatens national development. According to the 2024 National Demographic Health Survey, NDHS half (50%) of pregnant women are anaemic, a condition linked to fatigue, poor birth outcomes, and rising maternal mortality.
Speaking at a high-level media capacity-building workshop organised by the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), experts called on journalists to take center stage in driving public awareness, accountability, and action.
The three-day workshop, themed "Media as Catalysts for an Anaemia-Free Nigeria," brought together journalists, civil society actors, and government officials.
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Represented by the Assistant Director, Nutrition Department, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoH), Mrs. Helen Achimugu said the scale of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in the country is alarming.
"This is not just a health issue; it is a development emergency," Achimugu said, citing the NDHS findings. "Nigeria ranks first in Africa and second globally in the number of stunted children."
According to her, Nigeria has about 35 million malnourished children under five, including 14 million stunted, three million wasted, and more than 24 million anaemic. She described anaemia, largely caused by deficiencies in iron, vitamin A, iodine, zinc, and folate, as a form of "hidden hunger" whose symptoms may not be visible but have devastating consequences.
"They are called hidden hunger because the signs may not be obvious, but the impact on health, learning ability, and productivity is profound," she said.
Achimugu noted that malnutrition indicators have worsened over the years: stunting rose from 37percent in 2018 to 40 percent in 2023, underweight increased from 22 percent to 27 percent , and wasting from 7 percent to 8percent.
"Despite interventions, we are not winning this fight fast enough," she warned.
She highlighted government measures, including iron-folate supplementation, vitamin A distribution, food fortification, deworming, and malaria control, while stressing that Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) offer a more comprehensive solution.
"Pregnant women do not need iron alone. MMS provides about 15 essential micronutrients required for healthy pregnancy, safe delivery, and improved birth outcomes," she said. MMS has been added to Nigeria's National Essential Medicines List, with 3.6 million bottles received in 2024 and another three million expected in 2025, though challenges of availability, affordability, and rural access persist.
CS-SUNN Executive Secretary, Mr. Sunday Okoronkwo, urged journalists to amplify the crisis and push for accountability.
"Women and children are the most affected by malnutrition-related conditions such as anaemia. They are often unable to speak for themselves," Okoronkwo said. "In their vulnerability, they depend on the media to bring attention to issues that threaten their lives and livelihoods."
Describing anaemia as one of Nigeria's most persistent public health challenges, Okoronkwo warned that stock-outs of essential nutrition commodities at primary healthcare centers are worsening outcomes.
"Many facilities remain out of stock of life-saving commodities such as Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and MMS. In the FCT, several centres have no RUTF at all. These are preventable situations," he said.
Okoronkwo also called on journalists to monitor the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), a matching-fund mechanism under which every government naira contributed is doubled by donors.
"Every one naira contributed is matched by donors, resulting in two naira worth of life-saving commodities. Yet children are still dying from preventable causes," he said. "This fight will not be won in clinics alone. It will be won in newsrooms, on radio waves, across digital platforms, and through stories that shape public understanding and policy action."
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Highlighting MMS as a cost-effective intervention, he said: "Prevention is better than cure. Investing in MMS is one of the most strategic decisions Nigeria can make. It helps us move from reactive emergency responses to proactive life-saving interventions."
Senior Communication Officer Lillian Okafor of CS-SUNN emphasised the media's role in transforming numbers into action.
"Behind every statistic is a woman, a child, a family, and a future at risk," she said. "Journalists have the power to move this conversation beyond numbers to human stories that demand action."
The workshop aimed to improve journalists' understanding of anaemia, build capacity for evidence-based reporting, track government commitments, and increase sustained media coverage of MMS scale-up and anaemia prevention.
