(Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Photo by Vanguard news)
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised alarm over child malnutrition in Nigeria, blaming rising food and transportation costs.
About 41 percent of children under five are stunted while 19 percent are severely stunted.
In the North-West, the situation is worse with nearly 58 percent of children stunted.
Close to two million Nigerian children suffer severe acute malnutrition but only two out of every ten receive treatment.
Atiku said families are struggling to feed their children as prices of food and essentials consume most of their income.
He said high fuel costs don’t just affect filling stations.
They increase the cost of moving farm produce, running businesses and transporting goods to markets, which eventually raises the cost of food on family tables.
Food inflation currently stands at 19.57 percent.
Poor households spend up to 70 percent of their income on food.
Atiku proposed supporting Nigerian oil production and refining instead of subsidising imported fuel.
He said this production subsidy would lower energy and transportation costs so farmers spend less getting produce to market, traders spend less moving goods and parents have more money for food.
Atiku called for more investment in treating malnourished children and stronger nutrition programmes reaching vulnerable communities.
He said economic policy should be measured by whether ordinary Nigerians can afford to live.
Building a strong country on hungry children and celebrating economic statistics while mothers cut meals makes no sense, he argued.
