Insurgency and its cost on wellbeing of the Nigerian Child Northeast of the Country

Commentary

BY AFOLABI GAMBARI

Reports last week quoted a member of the House of Representatives, representing Gwoza, Damboa and Chibok Federal Constituency of Borno State, Muhammed Jaha, as informing his colleagues on the floor of the House that at least eight out of the 27 local government areas of his State are still occupied by Boko Haram insurgents.

The above revelation, however, is for the Nigerian security forces to tackle with a view to liberating the occupied local government areas from the insurgents. But the implications of the occupation can only be imagined, although without doubt it would be dire particularly on the women and children in the areas and specifically on the food insecurity which would ultimately result in malnutrition for the children.

Already, according to UNICEF statistics, an estimated 2.5million boys and girls under the age of 5 suffer from severe malnutrition every year in Nigeria. An estimated 440,000 boys and girls under the age of 5 in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states will also suffer from acute malnutrition, according to the world body which also revealed that a prevalence of global acute malnutrition among boys and girls aged below 5 years is 11% in Borno, 13% in Yobe and 6% Adamawa.

UNICEF said protracted access constraints and insecurity have made the situation even worse in Rann (Kala Balge), South Yobe, Magumeri, Jere and Konduga local government areas of Borno State, with the poor nutrition situation further exacerbated by poor food security problem, sub-optimal water, hygiene and sanitation practices and high disease burden.

The scourge of malnutrition impairs child development and compromises their immunity, leading to infection of sometimes severest kind, energy loss, reduced productivity, poverty, impaired development of education and health systems and ultimately socio-economic and political instability on a large scale. This damning reality hardly dawns on the Nigerian authorities with regard to the seemingly intractable insurgency in the north-east. Nonetheless, it is a reality that must come to pass with time, that is, if it is not happening yet.

UNICEF also says malnutrition causes 50% of all child deaths under the age of 5 and the affected children are 11 times at risk of death than their peers.

Several intervention measures are being put in place, according to UNICEF which describes the measures as ‘sustainable’. The body’s nutrition sector estimates that there will be 258,950 boys and girls suffering from severe acute malnutrition in 2020 in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. Therefore, N5 billion will be needed to procure 258,950 cartons of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) treatment. Funding also has been secured for 29,314 cartons of RUTF, although there is still a funding gap of N4.4billion for the procurement of 229,636 cartons of RUTF.

Despite all this, however, the influx of internally displaced persons has been identified as an ambush that may worsen the already poor nutrition situation. Coping mechanisms of the affected communities is also low and any shock will result in further deterioration of nutrition status, which makes it important to have a robust contingency plan.

The insurgency as injury would be overcome someday, however long it takes. But the scar of malnutrition would take eternity to erase, that is, if it can be erased at all. By that time, the scourge would have not only harm the future wellbeing of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, but would also have adversely affected the future wellbeing of Nigeria in terms of human capacity, considering the number of children that would have been ravaged by the scourge. Nevertheless, all the stakeholders should gather their loins together and get practical solutions going as resignation to fate will only worsen the situation.

*Afolabi Gambari, Journalist, Environmentalist, Social Commentator writes from Lagos, Nigeria Tel: +2348064651922, +2348116706849

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