Ekpoma – A professor of Biochemistry, Ignatius Onimawo has advocated proper feeding of infants in their first 1000 days of life to reduce infant mortality and promote economic growth of the country.

Prof. Onimawo, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Ambrose Alli University, (AAU), Ekpoma-Edo State, made the call while delivering the 53rd Inaugural Lecture of the institution, titled, “Nutrition In The First 1000 Days of Life: The Genesis and Summit of Human Development in Ekpoma.

According to him, a nation’s economic advancement is tied to the first 1000 days of every child’s life, adding what a child eat in the first 1000 days makes a difference for the rest of his life.

“Increasing scientific evidence shows that meeting the specific nutritional needs during phases of first 1000 days and beyond will positively influence short and long term health outcomes.

“Malnutrition can haunt children  for the rest of their lives, Undernourished children are more susceptible to infectious diseases, achieve less education and  have lower cognitive abilities.

“Under nutrition can significantly impede a country’s economic growth. Maternal nutrition is essential for the health of the mother, survival and development of her child,” he said.

He said nutrients are important for brain development and function, adding that optimal overall brain development depends on sufficient quantities of key nutrients during specific sensitive time periods in the first 1000 days

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“Proper feeding of infants and young children can increase their chances of survival and support optimal growth and development especially in the critical window from birth to two years of age (first 1000 days).

“Ideally, infants should be breastfed within one hour of birth-exclusively for the first six months of life and continue to be
breastfed up to two years of age and beyond.

“Timely initiation of breastfeeding is a key practice that provides benefits to both the newborn and mother,” he said.

The don said that breastfeeding should be combined with safe age appropriate feeding of solid, semi solid and soft solid, adding that an infant who is not exclusively breastfed is at a substantially greater risk of death from diarrhea or pneumonia than one who is.

“Breastfeeding support infant’s immune systems and helps to protect them later in life from chronic conditions such as obesity and diabetes.

“Cognitive development is the summit of all developments. It is the human whose brains is properly developed that plans and executes activities that bring about social, economic and infrastructural development of any nation,” he said.

Onimawo said that Nigeria account for more than one million infants and under five children death annually, adding that the country is currently rated as second worse country where most child death occurs globally.