Nigeria’s economy, one of the two largest in Africa, will struggle to grow if the country didn’t first improve healthcare, a national newspaper has argued.In a February 2019 ThisDay article headlined “Setting healthcare agenda for Nigeria”, writer Martins Ifijeh said countries such as the US owed their consistent growth to having beaten chronic malnutrition – “otherwise known as stunting” – in children under five years.
This success meant children were able to grow to their full potential and contribute to economic growth.
But this wasn’t the case in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and one of its two largest economies.
“Sadly in Africa, Nigeria, which prides itself as the giant of the continent, has the highest burden of the condition with over 11 million children said to be stunted,” Ifijeh wrote.Has a lack of food stunted the development of 11 million children in Nigeria?
*The views of the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial team.