Mothers in Nigeria have been advised to give good nutrition to their growing children so as to ensure sound intellectual and physical growth.
Wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, who gave the advice while declaring open the 10th Nutritional Seminar of Frieslandcampina Wamco Nigeria, at Oregun, Ikeja on Friday said some mothers are either not sure of what nutrition to give to their children or completely unaware of this significant period of a child’s life.
She said that the first five years of a child’s life was the most critical that sets the stage for the child’s intellectual development, lifelong health, as well as vulnerability.
“Certainly, the brain development and mental health of a child is essential and it should never be neglected. Science reveals that there is no other period of a child’s life when nutrition has such profound impact as compared to the first five years of a child’s life. This is a critical period that sets the stage for a child’s intellectual development, lifelong health, a period of enormous potentials as well as vulnerability”, Mrs. Ambode said.
She said the theme of the seminar; “Physical Growth and Brain Development of the Nigerian Child; The Challenge of Our Time” was apt, just as she urged healthcare practitioners to deploy the knowledge acquired from the seminar in their daily practice, she commended the company for its nutritional brands which have become household names in Nigeria.
In his welcome address, Rahul Colaco, the managing Director, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, reiterated the company’s commitment to quality diary nutrition; part of which includes providing adequate up to date researched information on child nutrition, thereby helping to reduce the incidences of malnutrition amongst women and children in Nigeria.
According to Colaco, “FrieslandCampina invests huge funds in research and development of quality and affordable products to cater for the various needs of the consumer. So we are confident of our support to Healthcare Practitioners in ensuring proper child nutrition.”
The 10th Nutrition Seminar held across key cities, including: lbadan, Abuja, Port-Harcourt Enugu and now Lagos, reinforced the importance of public private partnership in responding to key national issues, particularly in the nutritional development of the Nigerian child.