May 6th, 2015, Lagos: Nigeria faces one of the largest burdens of
micro-nutrient deficiencies, with anaemia the most common with a big
impact on health of women and children, the Nutrition Society of
Nigeria, NSN, have disclosed.
Specifically, 49 per cent of women of reproductive age have anaemia,
24.3 per cent have low iron stores and 12.7 per cent of them are iron
deficient.
These figures indicate that majority of the adolescent girls and
women did not meet the iron requirements of 20 milligrams per day as
recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organisation and, the World
Health Organisation.
Iron deficiency anaemia is a condition in which the red blood cells
or their oxygen-carrying capacity is insufficient to meet physiological
needs of the body. The symptoms of anaemic condition includes, fatigue,
dizziness, weakness, drowsiness, shortages of breath and all these
militate against active living and human productivity as iron is
critical to learning process and energy for day to day activities.
This has raised serious concerns among relevant stakeholders led by
the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, NSN, who said that iron is one of the
most prevalent micronutrient deficiencies globally, with almost one of
every two women of reproductive age being anemic in Nigeria.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos organised by Unilever Nigeria
in partnership with the NSN on the impact of Iron deficiency anaemia in
Nigeria, Professor Ngozi Nnam, President, Nutrition Society of Nigeria
said that the causes of anaemia vary but that approximately fifty
percent of the cases are due to iron deficiency.
