By Reginald Onabu

The journey of life runs from childbirth to senescence. One activity that remains constant throughout this journey is daily nutrition. The foods we consume daily constitute our daily diets, which is connected to our health and wellbeing.

We must certainly eat and nourish ourselves regularly for our nutrition, growth and development. Nutrition involves more than simply eating a “good” diet; it is about nourishment on every level. This includes eating balanced, quality food, drinking clean water and eating natural fruits with nutritious value.

An aspect of nutrition that has been neglected, especially in Nigeria, is protein nutrition. Protein nutrition is the formation of a diet that has a larger protein percentage per calorie than carbohydrates, lipids, and fat.

Calories are micro-units of energy that constitute the basic nutrients in all food sources. However, modern Nigerian diets usually emphasize carbohydrates and fats as the main course, while relegating proteins to the background.

The Nigeria Protein Deficiency report shows that proteins are rarely included in regular diets across all states. Highlights of the report indicate that carbohydrates are the most consumed food amongst Nigerians. Rice topped the list with 91 per cent, closely followed by ‘swallows’ (such as eba, pounded yam, etc.) at 83 per cent.

This shows the predominance of carbohydrates over protein rich-foods, which cuts across all regions in the nation.

Further analysis revealed that other carbohydrates like bread and pasta are consumed in large quantities, making up over 80 per cent of the daily diets, especially amongst the lower socio-economic classes.

This is a far cry from the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. The RDA is the amount of a food nutrient needed to meet the basic nutritional requirements. In a sense, it is the minimum amount the body needs to keep from getting ill — not the specific amount that is supposed to be eaten every day.

The implication of this dietary habit of consuming high carbohydrate, high-calorie foods is protein deficiency. This deficiency is a lack of essential protein nutrients in the daily diet and it is the consequence of primary malnutrition that occurs when there is no protein in our staple food.

Protein deficiency is strongly associated with ill health, as both a cause and consequence. People who are protein deficient are more susceptible to diseases and infections due to a weakened immune system and tend to take longer to recover from incidents of illness.

Protein deficiency invariably leads to a plethora of illnesses, including marasmus, psoriasis, edema, stunting and kwashiorkor. Kwashiorkor is a condition whereby an individual’s bio ketogenic cells are being burnt out in the body to sustain the internal metabolism of the human system.

The resulting symptoms include severe weight loss, swollen abdomen, and hair loss.

No state in Nigeria is free of protein deficiency and many fami­lies in rural and urban communities struggle with all of these forms of protein-energy deficiencies at the same time.

Nigeria can resolve these issues and build a stable, healthy future. The question is, how? The solution is protein nutrition.

Protein nutrition must be given priority. The regular nutrition pattern must gradually change and all dietary intakes should have some form of protein food source. This will go a long way to reduce the levels of protein deficiency in the nation.

The government could enact a protein-centred food policy that would involve adding proteins to staple foods during processing to enhance their nutritional quality.

The government could also develop protein-centred plans, decisions and strategies in food cultivation, production, processing, packaging and consumption; ensuring that proteins are utilized to augment food sources.

An effective approach will be to create public awareness of the benefits of a protein-centred nutrition. People should be encouraged to eat soybeans, legumes, groundnuts, eggs, quinoa daily. The Nigeria Protein Awareness Campaign or Protein Challenge is one of the players operating in this space. Protein Challenge is a protein pull media campaign that seeks to create awareness about the prevalence, status and impact of protein deficiency in Nigeria.

Proteins should be the main course. The narrative should be “more protein, more life”, as every cell in the human body contains protein. We all need protein in our diets to help our bodies repair cells and make new ones. Proteins are also important for growth and development in children, teens, and pregnant women.

Once people begin to grasp the tremendous benefits proteins offer, nutritious habits nationwide will change.

Life, they say, is a process, and a child that is born today cannot become an adult overnight; so is healthy nutrition. It is a gradual process.

Protein nutrition will pave the way for a healthy future.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country have been urged to produce soybeans in portable packs to ensure that the protein-rich food source is readily available and within the reach of all Nigerians.

Professor Ibiyemi Olayiwola, Professor of Human Nutrition, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, who made this call at the Protein Challenge Webinar, noted that in the quest to combat protein deficiency, it is important to improve access to affordable protein-rich food sources such as soyabeans.

She explained that the widespread availability of packaged soya products will lead to an increase in adoption and usage across the country. This also means more derivatives of soy will be produced, packaged and available for distribution.

The professor of Nutrition called on Nigerians to be soy-centred and noted that soy flour should be in every kitchen for use as sauce, thickener and additive. It can be consumed as soy sauce, soy milk, tofu, soy meal, soy flour and soybean oil daily.

According to Professor Olayiwola, “The biological value of soyabean cannot be overlooked; rather it should be integrated into most of our meals. Protein is the reason that soyabeans have historically been called ‘meat of the field’ or ‘meat without bones’. It has 86 per cent net protein utilisation.”

She revealed that nutrition experts agreed on RDA (recommended dietary allowance) of at least 0.8g/kg body weight/day that safely and adequately meets the protein needs of most healthy persons. Proteins, she added, are needed at different stages of life for growth, to boost the immune system and for energy.

She equally joined calls by fellow nutrition experts for the addition of soyabeans to wheat flour in the production of staples such as bread, pasta and noodles, as a way to tackle malnutrition in the country.

The Nigeria Protein Deficiency Report 2019 revealed that carbohydrates are the most consumed food among Nigerians, leaving many deficient in protein. Rice tops the list of foods consumed among Nigerians, with 91 per cent, and closely followed by “swallows” such as eba, pounded yam, fufu, and amala at 83 per cent.

The survey, geared towards determining Nigeria’s protein deficiency status, also shows that the most important determining factors for the choice of meal consumed in the country are “availability, at 79 per cent, and affordability, at 68 per cent.”

High cost was also identified as a major disincentive for the consumption of most protein food sources. The report indicated that 51 per cent of respondents do not have adequate protein-rich foods due largely to the relatively high cost. Soybeans are a relatively cheaper source of complete protein.

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consultancy firm, has proposed the promotion of financial inclusion, equitable distribution of resources, infrastructural development and formulation of requisite fiscal policies as initiatives that will drive Nigeria’s post-Covid economic recovery.

The measures were highlighted in a recent BCG report titled “How to Forge an Inclusive Post-Covid Recovery in Nigeria” authored by Tolu Oyekan, a Partner at the firm’s Lagos office.

The report stated that the initiatives, which form part of Nigeria’s sustainability plan, are critical in staving off the Covid-19 induced economic contraction which could further compound the poverty situation in the country.

According to 2021 World Bank projections, Sub-Saharan Africa will experience a severe economic slump. It is predicted that the negative impact on Nigeria, being the continent’s largest economy and most populous country, will be grave, especially amongst the poor.

A steep drop in per capita income could lead to an increase in the number of vulnerable Nigerians. An estimated 83 million Nigerians – about 40 percent of the population – already live below the poverty lines in the country.

Oyekan however posits that a financial inclusion drive through infrastructural intervention projects will reduce Nigeria’s poverty population and also have a positive multiplier effect on the Nigerian economy. He listed the electrification of rural households through a pay-as-you-go solar service and cashless transactions via telco induced mobile money platforms, as examples of such infrastructural intervention projects.

The Nigerian government has a target of installing new home solar power systems and mini-grids for over 5 million low-income households by the end of 2023. Many of these households either have no source of power, or rely on small, inefficient generators for electricity.

These families will need to use PAYGo, an installment financing option offered with mobile money bank accounts, to purchase the installation kits for these systems. Customers who have an existing mobile money account have a higher chance of accessing the facility than others who don’t.

Speaking on the impact of the project, Oyekan said: “Our analysis shows that a PAYGo loan would make solar kits affordable for about half of the 31 million households that do not have reliable electricity and may also considered to be in a low-income bracket. What’s more, we found that 3.2 million out of 17 million households currently using kerosene and candles as their lighting source could afford the monthly PAYGo payments based on their current spending on lighting, plus about 10 per cent of their nonfood budget.”

He highlighted a recent USAID research which estimates that between 15 to 30 percent of PAYGo solar customers will create a credit history for the first time when they purchase a solar home system with a PAYGo plan.

Stressing the importance of having a credit history and financial footprint, he said: “That credit history could, in turn, lead to other loans for large expenses, such as school fees, which can consume up to 40 percent of a family’s annual income. Credit histories are also a critical driver of growth for small-business enterprises and first-time business entrepreneurs.”

About BCG

The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consultancy firm. BCG partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963.

Today, the organisation helps clients with total transformation—inspiring complex change, enabling organisations to grow, building competitive advantage, and driving bottom-line impact.

The year 2020 was an unusual one in every sense of the word.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic made sure of this. To remove any doubt about the threat that the virus posed to every country in the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised the COVID-19 as a global pandemic.

Today, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic is global. There is hardly anyone who has not been affected by the pandemic to some degree. In a country like Nigeria, it has precipitated mental, emotional, social, business-related and financial impact.

Nigeria is home to over 230 million people, the bulk of whom are young. While the country has experienced relatively small numbers of COVID-19 deaths, the resurgence of a second wave is a cause for concern. Another cause for concern is the growing incidence of severe poverty and malnutrition. About 40 per cent of the nation’s population continues to live on less than $1.90 US dollars a day.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently released a poverty and inequality report which highlighted that over 83 million Nigerians are extremely poor. This report, which is a basis for measuring poverty and living standards in the country, is used to estimate a wide range of socio-economic indicators, including bench-marking of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Indeed, many children and families still lack access to affordable nutritious foods. This often results in a lack of essential nutrients in their daily diet, which can lead to severe malnutrition and protein deficiency. Protein deficiency is a negative nutritional condition produced by a deficiency of proteins in the body.

Experts indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn will probably further aggravate these issues.

In many ways, the pandemic seems to have helped to shed light on what is really important in the world today, and that is good health.

Evidently, an essential ingredient of good health is good and affordable nutrition. As the year 2021 progresses, Nigeria needs to tackle the challenge of malnutrition and protein deficiency, coupled with the pandemic.

To achieve this, some key solutions must be implemented and adapted to suit the needs of the average Nigerian. This requires a significant level of expertise and insight on the poverty and malnutrition problem in the country.

First, the government needs to deal with the malnutrition problem directly. This can be done by reducing the price of healthy food crops nationwide, reducing the cost of seedlings and arable crops being sold to farmers, thereby increasing the affordability and accessibility of agricultural inputs. This will increase food availability to a large extent, which will curb malnutrition.

The government should also implement agricultural development projects (ADPs) across Nigeria. These agricultural development projects will play a facilitating role in the production of crops, livestock, and aquaculture.

For the vast majority of Nigerians, food production and agriculture must be embedded and promoted in every community to increase food availability and accessibility. The government has a responsibility to provide safe, affordable and nutritious food crops to the populace to mitigate the levels of hunger and starvation in the nation.

Secondly, the government needs to make health care affordable by creating more hospitals and health centres in the north eastern states with high malnutrition rates, while sustaining ongoing health programmes such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Food and Drug Programme (FDP).

The government can liaise with foreign health organisations like the World Health Organisation and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to provide quality healthcare to malnourished children and individuals.

Of course, there must be sensitisation and awareness campaigns in rural communities on dietary changes, eating of fortified foods that contain valuable nutrients, and locally available food sources that are healthy and nutritious. Foods like soybeans, awara, bambara, okpa, groundnuts, and egusi are rich in nutrients that nourish the body.

Finally, non-governmental organisations can visit villages and communities to provide local food options and to educate malnourished locals on eating a healthy, balanced diet.

Nigeria has the potential to surmount all the aforementioned difficulties if these solutions can be properly and effectively implemented.

The key is proper planning.

Professor Adewolu Morenike, professor of Fish Nutrition at the Department of Marine Sciences, University of Lagos, has called on Nigerians from all walks of life to regularly consume soybeans and fish to help improve their diet and reduce the incidence of malnutrition in the country. Soybeans and fish are well-known and affordable sources of protein.
Professor Adewolu noted that the benefits of the combination of soybeans and fish consumption are often understated whereas they contain numerous vitamins and minerals which are of tremendous benefits to the human body and mind.
Speaking on the benefits of consuming soy, she said: “The size of the soybean pales in comparison to the numerous gains of its consumption. Soybean is an excellent source of protein, and it contains fundamental nutrients needed by the human body to function optimally. It is one of the few plant-based proteins that is considered to have all the essential amino acids.”
The don added: “Soybeans are low in carbohydrates and have a very low glycemic index (GI), which is a measure of how foods affect the rise in blood sugar after a meal. Soybeans are good sources of several vitamins and minerals, including vitamin K1, vitamins B1-B6, folates, copper, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, and thiamine. They are a rich source of various bioactive plant compounds, including isoflavones, saponins, and lunasin.”
She stated that soybeans have high levels of isoflavones and antioxidants as well as immune-boosting properties. According to her, “The proteins and isoflavones in soy repair worn-out cells and tissues, and replace blood plasma, which is vital for immune resistance. Isoflavones may be protective against breast cancer later in life. The high levels of antioxidants in soybeans may prevent the onset of several cancer cells and remove free radicals from the body.”
The professor described the combination of soybeans with fish as a superfood that can lower the risk of diabetes, heart diseases, stroke and obesity. She explained that regular consumption of fish (whether oily, shellfish or lean fish) will lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes because of the presence of Omega-3fatty acids.
According to the lecturer, fish, which contain Omega-3 fatty acids, will help in the breakdown of triglycerides and fatty acids in the liver, thereby lowering the risk of fatty liver disease. This helps blood flow to the brain and improves its performance during mental tasks. Fish are rich in Vitamin A, which can fight free radicals and reduce oxidative stress.
The professor said: “As long as fishes are included in our diet, be it tilapia, codfish (panla), scumbia, crabs, crayfish, or any type of fish at all, our immune system will be immediately boosted because fishes contain vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and selenium, which are critical in the formation of macrophage cells, which patrol the bloodstreams for harmful bacteria.”
The professor stated that the immune system is spread throughout the body and it involves many types of cells, organs, proteins and tissues. She noted that without an enhanced immune system, the body would be opened to attack from bacteria, viruses and parasites, which is why increasing the dietary intake of soy and fish is important.
She added that the vitamins and minerals contained in soybeans and fish help to maintain the body’s defence against infections, thereby enhancing the human body’s immunologic system.
Professor Adewolu stated: “In Nigeria, the average protein intake is low; it is estimated to be 45.4 grams per day. This is below the WHO’s recommendation of 70 grams per day. A combination of soybeans and fish will definitely meet the recommendation since these two foods are very good sources of dietary protein.”