Rising food, fuel costs driving child malnutrition, says Atiku

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar decried Nigeria’s worsening child malnutrition crisis, linking it to rising food, transportation and energy costs and warning that economic hardship is increasingly affecting the ability of families to provide adequate nutrition for their children.

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Atiku, in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, cited recent nutrition figures showing that 41.1 per cent of Nigerian children under five are stunted, while 19.2 per cent are severely stunted.

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He said the situation was even more severe in the North-West, where stunting affects 58.2 per cent of children.

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The Nutrition Society of Nigeria recently raised concerns over the scale of malnutrition, reporting that nearly two million Nigerian children are affected by severe acute malnutrition, with only about two in every 10 receiving treatment.

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Atiku said the figures should be viewed against the backdrop of the pressures confronting households as the cost of food and other essentials continues to consume a large share of family incomes.

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“This is the most heartbreaking face of the cost-of-living crisis. Behind every statistic is a Nigerian mother struggling to decide what her children can eat, how much they can eat and how often they can eat.

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“A child does not understand inflation figures. A child only knows whether there is food on the table,” he said.

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The African Democratic Congress presidential candidate further argued that high energy and transportation costs have consequences beyond the price paid at filling stations, as they affect the cost of moving agricultural produce, running small businesses and transporting goods to markets.

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“When fuel becomes expensive, transporting tomatoes from the farm becomes expensive. Taking rice to the market becomes expensive. Moving children to school becomes expensive.

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“And eventually, the additional cost arrives at the dinner table,” he added.

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The National Bureau of Statistics currently puts food inflation at 19.57 per cent.

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The World Bank has similarly noted that higher petrol prices can reduce household purchasing power directly and transmit additional costs to other goods and services, particularly transportation.

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Atiku said his proposed intervention in the petroleum sector was intended to address those cost pressures through what he described as a production subsidy rather than a return to the former system of subsidising imported petrol.

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“My position is straightforward: support what Nigeria produces and refines, lower domestic production costs, and ensure that the benefit reaches the Nigerian consumer.

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“This is not an import subsidy. If you do not refine in Nigeria, you do not qualify. The subsidy follows the barrel refined in Nigeria,” the statement further read.

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He maintained that the proposal would be capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited, with the broader objective of reducing energy and transportation costs while strengthening domestic production.

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“My production-subsidy proposal is therefore not simply a petrol policy. It is part of a broader affordability programme.

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“I want the farmer to spend less getting produce to market. I want the trader to spend less transporting goods. I want the bus driver to spend less on fuel. I want parents to have more money left after transportation so that they can put better food on the table,” he added.

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He further called for greater investment in the treatment of severely malnourished children and stronger maternal and child nutrition programmes, saying nutrition budgets must reach vulnerable communities.

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His comments come as Nigeria continues to grapple with the social consequences of economic reforms introduced since 2023, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and foreign-exchange reforms.

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The World Bank has said those reforms have contributed to macroeconomic stabilisation but also placed significant short-term pressure on households, stressing the need for stronger social protection for poor and economically vulnerable Nigerians.

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The bank has also reported that food inflation disproportionately affects poorer households, which can spend as much as 70 per cent of their income on food.

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Atiku said government economic policy should ultimately be measured by its effect on ordinary households.

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“We cannot build a strong country on the bodies of hungry children,” he said.

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“We cannot celebrate economic statistics while mothers are cutting meals and children are denied the nutrition they require to grow.”

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He said his proposed approach was aimed at lowering energy and production costs, strengthening domestic production and restoring household purchasing power.

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“Economic policy must ultimately answer a very simple question: Can the ordinary Nigerian afford to live?,” he asked.

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