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 said this while declaring open the 10th Nutritional Seminar of Frieslandcampina WAMCO Nigeria, at Ikeja, Lagos on Friday, noted that some mothers were 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 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.
The governor’s wife added, “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 potential as well as vulnerability.”
She said the theme of the seminar, ‘Physical Growth and Brain Development of the Nigerian Child; The Challenge of Our Time’, was apt, urging health care practitioners to deploy the knowledge acquired from the seminar in their daily practice.
Ambode commended the company for its nutritional brands, which had become household names in Nigeria. The Managing Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Nigeria Plc, Rahul Colaco, reiterated the company’s commitment to quality diary nutrition, part of which includes providing adequate up-to-date researched information on child nutrition, which helped to reduce malnutrition among women and children in Nigeria.
Colaco stated, “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 health care practitioners in ensuring proper child nutrition.”
The 10th Nutrition Seminar had held in lbadan, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Enugu before the Lagos event.
-Punch
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