A social impact project that seeks to reduce stunting and wasting caused by malnutrition among Nigerian children, Community Pot, is set to provide adequate nourishment for 10 million toddlers, and establish 20,000 of Nutrition Support Centres across the country.
The visionary of Community Pot, Kemi Jeje, disclosed this during the pilot flag-off and unveiling of the Nutrition Support Centre [NSC] at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
She disclosed that the goal of NSC was to rehabilitate, prevent, and see to the adequate nourishment for the thriving of 10 million toddlers, to establish 20,000 of these centres across the country.
Jeje said:‘’We want to change the narrative of nutrition in Nigeria. Nutrition plays a big role in healthy living. Some are not eating right due to ignorance and lack of good support. If we invest in nutrition, health expenditure will reduce.
‘’NSC is a system that is symbolised by the physical infrastructure we just unveiled.NSC will be working with general hospitals, primary health centres, and will be located in communities, including market areas.
‘’ Since 2022, Community Pot has been a vital source of nourishment and support for children in under-served areas, providing over 500 vulnerable children in Lagos with specialised, organic protein meals from Whole Eats.
‘’The goal of NSC is to rehabilitate, prevent, and see to the adequate nourishment for thriving of 10 million toddlers, to establish 20,000 of these centres across our nation, and by doing this, to change the narration that we currently have in toddler malnutrition, and working with everyone seated here and everyone that is going to join the course to reduce the malnutrition numbers to zero’’.
Jeje said if the country invested in nutrition, health expenditure would reduce, saying the project was set to change the narrative of nutrition in Nigeria.
Dr Folusho Balogun,who is a Senior Research Fellow and Consultant Pediatrician at the institute of Child Health,UCH, unveiled the Nutrition Support Centre [NSC].
Dr Titilayo Falade of the International Institute for Tropic Agriculture (IITA) , lamented that malnutrition affects health, increases in health cost, creates social problems, food-borne diseases, and results in loss in the gross domestic product [GDP].
Falade, who is the FoodSafety4Africa Project Coordinator and Scientist at IITA, Ibadan, spoke on the theme: ‘The Impact of Malnutrition on the Economy’ .
The Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, who was represented by the Director of Nursing Service, Oyo State Hospital Management Board, Bolaji Ayoola, said: ‘’ A healthy mother is for a healthy baby. When a pregnant mother eats healthy she will give birth healthy. A healthy baby constitutes a healthy family and a healthy nation. It is not actually poverty that causes malnutrition but ignorance’’.
Adenike Akpeji, who spoke on the theme: ‘’impacts of business on malnutrition’’, stressed the need for collaboration among stakeholders.
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