The President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Wasiu Afolabi, speaks with AMARACHI OKEH about the impact of the current economic hardship and food crisis on the nutritional needs of Nigerians and the local food alternatives that can help address the dietary deficiencies of vulnerable citizens
How crucial is maintaining healthy nutrition during an economic hardship like this?
We know that good nutrition is the foundation for good health, and in nutritional parlance, we say you are what you eat. Nutrition plays an important role in your state of health and well-being. Regardless of the state of the economy, an individual requires a certain level of nutrients derived from the foods we consume. Only by consuming different foods can we obtain these nutrients in quantity and quality. An individual must eat and consume diverse food in adequate amounts to meet the minimum requirements for healthy living.
Failure to do so, and consuming inadequate food over a prolonged period, will result in malnutrition, particularly undernutrition, compromising one’s health. People need to be aware of this, but poverty is a significant underlying factor of malnutrition. Without money or food, it becomes impossible to consume adequate foods that provide the necessary nutrients for health.
During this economic hardship, the cost of food is rising daily. Many staple foods and animal-origin foods that supply us with protein, even legumes like beans, which the common man depends on, are no longer affordable. The cost of garri, once called the poor man’s food, has also skyrocketed. The poorest of the poor, and even the middle class, are struggling to access food.
Some people have reduced their food intake, and some do not have food at all. These vulnerable individuals will suffer first in this economic situation. If many working-class individuals are struggling to feed their families, one can only imagine how those without any means of livelihood are surviving. This is a challenging time for everyone in the country, rich and poor, as everyone struggles to stay alive.
We are seeing practical signs of malnutrition, severe acute malnutrition, and vitamin deficiencies rising again. Nigeria already has poor nutrition statistics in terms of stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiency, and underweight. If the situation persists for a long time, Nigeria, which is currently second to India in the burden of stunted children globally, may unfortunately take the lead.
Many Nigerians cannot afford three square meals and have been skipping meals. Which particular meal should not be missed and why?
All foods are important, and the key to good nutrition is eating different foods, including legumes, tubers, and especially fruits and vegetables. The prices of these food categories have significantly increased, even for fruits and vegetables, except in local areas where people can grow their own. All foods are important. Staples like yam, maize, tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, oranges, and mangoes are essential. Foods of animal origin, particularly proteins, like fish and beef, have also become very expensive. Beans, which used to be affordable for poor Nigerians, have also increased in price.
However, it is important to find substitutes if you cannot afford these foods. There are other legumes apart from beans, such as Bambara nuts and soya beans. For animal proteins, you can buy crayfish. If you mix crayfish with melon and leafy vegetables, you have a good meal.
Nigerians must learn to use alternatives for some of these protein sources. For example, if you cannot afford eggs, you can use snails. It is crucial, especially for growing children, to have a mixture of all these nutrients through different foods. If you cannot buy chicken or eggs, and there are snails in your community, you can use snails. You can also use crayfish and soya beans, which can be processed into powder or tofu (wara). These alternatives are better than not consuming these nutrients at all.
If people do not consume these nutrients over a long period, it will result in serious malnutrition, compromising their health. They will become sick more frequently and end up spending more money on healthcare.
In this economic hardship, can you suggest affordable and nutritious food alternatives for Nigerians?
Let’s take yam, for example. If yam is not available, we have sweet potatoes and cocoyam. Maize is also an option. It is a whole grain, which is important for our nutrition as it aids in easy bowel movement and has low calories. There are also lesser-known legumes we can resort to, like ogiri in Yoruba. Although some of them take a long time to cook, the type of energy you use to cook them becomes important.
There are quite a lot of alternatives to beans. Several local beans can be consumed, such as acha, which is common in the Plateau area. It can be used to prepare couscous or a swallow.
Toad is also good. I don’t mean frog. Toads are slim and can jump several metres. In some communities, they are available and are nutritious, with very soft white meat. There are also edible insects like crickets and some types of grasshoppers. These are different alternatives that people can resort to.
We can use some of these legumes to produce something that resembles beef. For example, soya beans can produce textured vegetable protein. Wara is also made from soya beans. It is a good quality protein.
Are there specific foods that should not be substituted because of their nutritional benefits?
There is nothing you can use to substitute for fruits and vegetables. You must get them from their natural environment and consume them. However, exotic fruits like apples, pears, grapes, and certain oranges are now expensive. Even those of us working used to buy these regularly, but can we still afford to buy them as much as we used to?
We have our local fruits that we can use whenever they are in season, such as African apples, local oranges, mangoes, and soursop. We also have local vegetables that we can plant. Everyone can use available spaces in their homes to grow some vegetables. Hydroponic farming, often showcased on social media, demonstrates that you don’t necessarily need land. If you have a bucket, you can plant green vegetables using old buckets in your house, which you water daily. It is easy to maintain. When you prepare your rice, you can take some vegetables and add them to enrich the nutrient content of the rice.
The principle for good nutrition is to have a variety of colours in one meal. When you look at your meal before you eat, it should include green, yellow, red, and white. The more colours there are, the more nutrients the food contains.
A recent video showed some Nigerians using cucumber to replace tomatoes in making stew. Is that a good substitute? What do you think of that trend?
It is good. It depends. You can use cucumber to make a sauce to eat yam, cocoyam, sweet potato, and Irish potatoes. Did you know that if you peel a cucumber, you can use the flesh to make a sauce by adding a little pepper and perhaps processed tomatoes? When you add other ingredients like snails and crayfish, it becomes a good stew for you to eat. It is a good practice.
The ongoing economic hardship and its impact on access to good food have once again ignited fears of a rise in malnutrition or diet-related health issues. How real is this fear?
The hardship in the country has changed the pattern of our food consumption. Many people have reduced the number of meals they eat, with many unable to eat thrice daily. Ordinarily, we recommend three square meals per day, but now even those three meals are not always square. In between those meals, especially for growing children, snacks are typically expected. However, many people cannot manage three meals daily, not to mention snacks. Some people eat three meals but in inadequate quantities, serving food that is inadequate for their children.
Additionally, some people eat only what they can afford, so the principle of eating a diverse and adequate diet is not followed. They might eat one type of food, leading to a monotonous diet. This limits the nutrients they receive to those in that particular food, leading to undernutrition of other essential nutrients. For example, people who used to eat amala or eba with a rich soup can no longer do so, resulting in an inadequate diet. Prolonged inadequate food intake leads to malnutrition, especially micronutrient malnutrition. In children, this compromises their growth, health, and ability to learn in school. A child who does not have breakfast or eats an inadequate breakfast will have a low attention span in class. Over time, this leads to micronutrient deficiency, compromising their learning capacity. However, adults’ productivity is affected because they feel fatigued easily and cannot perform meaningful work.
On the other side, lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases, once considered diseases of affluence, are now also affecting the poor. It has been established that acute malnutrition or stunting from conception, particularly during the first 1,000 days of life (from conception until the child is two years old), results in nutritional deficiencies that can never be reversed. Studies have found that such children are more likely to develop non-communicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. The rising incidence of these diseases is not surprising as they manifest in adulthood due to childhood nutritional deficiencies.
To complicate the issue, those with metabolic syndrome, diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, cannot even afford their medications now. These are serious issues.
What are the economic consequences of malnutrition, and does poor nutrition affect the economy?
Yes, it does, very seriously. When we have a well-nourished population, it will be a healthy population, leading to a productive population that will contribute to the growth and development of the nation. When a child suffers from malnutrition, the implications are significant. Such a child will not grow to reach their potential, their immunity will be compromised, making them susceptible to childhood diseases because their immune system is weak and unable to fight infections. When a child is frequently ill, the parents will spend money, and the government will expend resources to care for the health of its citizens, increasing the burden of healthcare costs for both the family and the country.
Such a child will not be able to attend school regularly due to illness, leading to frequent absenteeism, poor education, and poor academic achievements. This child will have fewer opportunities in life and may resort to petty, menial labour that will not earn enough to support a family. If this child starts a family, they will also be poor, raising poor children and perpetuating poverty through generations. A poor family begets a poor family, creating an intergenerational cycle of poverty and malnutrition. This means that the person will be unable to contribute to the wealth of their family, the community, and the nation.
A nation derives its income from the resources available in the country, and everyone must contribute. When a large population is malnourished and cannot contribute to the nation’s wealth, the country will be poor. That is the link. Additionally, consider the theory that childhood malnutrition results in non-communicable diseases in adulthood. This will also increase the nation’s healthcare costs, further straining family wealth and income. Nigeria needs to wake up because we have a large population of malnourished children, which spells doom for the future of the country.
What are your thoughts on how parents can ensure children eat healthily during this period?
Parents will need to be innovative. If you have space in your yard, plant green vegetables and fruits. If you don’t have land, use a bucket or box. Whatever you grow in your house will be readily available to prepare meals for your children. At least it will reduce the monotonous diet that people consume every day. Add greens to everything. If you prepare yam pottage, add greens; if you prepare rice, add greens. You can grow some pepper in your compound too.
Think of local alternatives that you can use. There are many local foods of animal origin, cereals, legumes, and tubers available locally. Let’s go back to those traditional foods that we have abandoned over the years. There are some local snacks from those days that we served to children between meals. People have forgotten about local snacks like toasted corn. It looks like popcorn, but it doesn’t pop. We consumed it as children. Mix some groundnut and toasted corn and give it to children; it is very nutritious. I think as parents we need to remember the local foods we used to consume when we were children and return to those.
Aside from children, the elderly, particularly those managing chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, represent another vulnerable group. Given that many are poor pensioners or dependants, how can they effectively manage their nutritional needs during this challenging period?
It is indeed a tough time for the elderly. As you mentioned, many are retirees who are poor and do not receive their pensions regularly.
Firstly, we need to provide care for the elderly. Leaving them in the community without support is detrimental to their health. Proper care mitigates the effects of diseases, while the lack of care aggravates their condition. Timely meals are crucial for managing diabetes and other metabolic diseases, as even when on medication, the effectiveness of drugs diminishes without proper nutrition.
We must also consider that several factors affect the elderly’s ability to eat well. Poor dentition, lack of appetite, and loneliness can all diminish their desire to eat. Companionship, shared meals, and engaging them in conversation can help improve their appetite.
It is essential to provide foods they can handle based on their health. Many elderly individuals cannot chew meat, so grinding meat, fish, or crayfish into their meals is beneficial. They should also have foods that are good for their stomachs, such as semi-solid foods and soups like well-prepared ewedu or okra without too many solids. Enriched pap, made from cereals like millet, sorghum, and maize, complemented with a little crayfish or soybean, can also be very helpful.
Ensuring they have access to their medications is crucial. Communities and governments can do much to support the aged, including establishing well-managed old people’s homes, particularly for those without children to care for them.
These are the kinds of support systems that exist overseas, and there is no reason why we cannot implement similar solutions here. The elderly are very vulnerable, but with proper care, they can be supported both at the community and institutional levels.
Are there some local foods that are both nutritious and affordable that Nigerians are not paying attention to?
There are so many. Go to each geopolitical zone of the country and visit rural village markets. There are some vegetables that people eat that grow in the wild, particularly in cocoa plantations. These vegetables are rich in iron, other minerals, and vitamins. Only people of the older generation know and buy them, so there are quite a lot, both fruits and vegetables.
There are several varieties of cocoyam: white cocoyam, red cocoyam, and purple cocoyam. We have different kinds of potatoes too. Many such varieties are available locally and can be used to replace the expensive ones. Many of these vegetables and fruits are becoming extinct unless our research institutes preserve them. If we do not take action, many of our children will not know about them.