The UNICEF Glob­al Nutrition Report of 2016 has revealed that 2.1million children in Nigeria are currently diagnosed as suffering from malnutrition, while 361,000 children die annually from malnutrition in the country.


The figures, according to the report, placed the country second in global ranking of prevalence of stunting and wasting, af­ter India.

Jigawa State has the highest prevalence rate followed by Katsina State.

The Executive Direc­tor of Civil Society Leg­islative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Malam Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, presented the report at the weekend during a meeting with Governor Aminu Bello Masari at the Katsina State Govern­ment House.

Quoting from the re­port, Rafsanjani noted that Katsina was among the states in Nigeria with less than 10 per cent ex­clusive breastfeeding practice while 11 other states including Abuja have a total record of 1,700, 000 malnourished children.

The states are Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Adamawa, Yobe and Bor­no.

Rasfanjani described CISLAC as a UNICEF-sponsored project work­ing towards reducing mal­nutrition among children and their mothers.

According to him, "Globally, 25,000 children under the age of five years die daily and 45 per cent of cause of death is attributed to malnutrition. Nigeria is one of the 20 countries responsible for 80 per cent of global child malnutrition which accounts for one tenth of the global total."