11 million deaths caused by nutritional deficiency annually – Experts

Experts in the nutritional sector have called for robust policies to tackle malnutrition in the country, adding that about 11 million deaths globally are caused by nutritional deficiency.

They made the call at a virtual workshop organised yesterday by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in collaboration with the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and eHealth Africa, which had the theme, ‘Enforcing Workforce Nutrition Compliance for Improved Health and Well-being in the Nigerian Workplace’.

A food systems and nutrition specialist, Mrs Dolapo Enejoh, emphasised the need for a clear-cut policy to tackle malnutrition in the country, adding that “dietary risk factors are estimated to cause 11 million deaths and the loss of 255 million years (disability-adjusted life-years) due to ill-health, disability, or early death, annually.”

Delivering a presentation on ‘Enforcing Workforce Nutrition Compliance for Improved Health and Well-being in the Nigerian Workplace’, the Global Programme Lead Workforce Nutrition at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Dr Barbel Weiligmann, said workforce nutrition is central to employee well-being.

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Also speaking, the Dean of the College of Food Science and Human Ecology, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) and President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Professor Wasiu Afolabi, said the public sector lacked workforce nutrition programmes.