The Ogun Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, has identified poor nutrition as one of the major challenges affecting Nigerian children, warning that it undermines brain development and limits their future potential.
Coker spoke on Thursday in Lagos during a fireside chat organised as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of Green Pastures Kiddies, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Child Impact Summit has the theme: “Closing the Gaps: Strengthening Systems for Better Outcomes.”
According to Coker, many women enter pregnancy malnourished and are unable to maintain adequate nutrition during pregnancy, with adverse consequences for the health and development of their children.
She explained that poor maternal nutrition affects a child’s brain development, making it difficult for children to fully benefit from educational opportunities later in life.
“And then the product that we are actually giving to you, the educationists don’t actually have the child with a well-nourished brain to take in the education.
“This is because a child is alive does not mean the child is intact mentally. A lot of times, where care given during labour is inadequate and the child suffers oxygen shortage, the brain is not going to develop,” she said.
Coker added that children affected by malnutrition and birth-related complications often failed to achieve their full potential as adults.
She identified poor nutrition and oxygen deprivation during childbirth as two major factors affecting children’s development in Nigeria.
The commissioner questioned the quality of future workforce the country was producing, emphasising the need to invest in child health to ensure children could contribute meaningfully to national development.
“What sort of children are we churning out, and they will be major contributors to the labour workforce?” she asked.
“Do we want to have labourers, or do we want technical people who can contribute positively to the global workforce?” she added.
Coker said this was why she remained passionate about ensuring optimal care for mothers and children during pregnancy, childbirth and the early years of life.
“Women must come into pregnancy well-nourished and they must be well nourished during pregnancy and during the developmental stages under five years of the child’s life.
“They have to have their immunisation so they don’t have illnesses that further damage their vulnerable brains or end up with repeated infections that keep them out of school,” she said.
According to her, many of the challenges facing Nigerian children originate within the healthcare system and require comprehensive interventions.
Coker said improving child education outcomes would require a multifaceted approach involving government, the private sector, NGOs and civil society organisations.
She noted that government must provide enabling policies, while the private sector contributes efficiency, innovation and technology to strengthen service delivery.
The commissioner added that NGOs and civil society organisations, being closest to communities, played a critical role in awareness creation and grassroots support.
She urged NGOs to focus on empowering women economically rather than limiting interventions to the distribution of food items and other materials.
“If you save a woman, you save a family; you save a community. When you empower a woman, you empower a family, the community and the society at large,” she said.
Coker advised NGOs to equip women with sustainable skills and opportunities that would enable them to become financially independent.
According to her, financially independent women are better positioned to provide quality education, nutrition and guidance for their children.
“I weep when I drive around and see 40-year-olds stopping my car and saying, ‘Do you have something for the boys?’ And I’m thinking, at 40?
“This is because we missed it at some point, and we haven’t given them skills which they could have acquired at a younger age. So now, they’re members of society, but they can’t contribute positively,” she said.
Source: NAN
