The Growing IDPs in the Country and Impact on Childhood Malnutrition: Averting a Future Generation with Stunted Growth and Knowledge

Abstract

Al least 80,000 people are forcefully displaced from their homes every 24 hour across the globe while in Nigeria the total number of IDPs in 2018 stands at 2.1 million. Among the major challenges facing the IDPs in camps scattered across the country is severe childhood malnutrition. This could lead to poor physical, mental and psychological development of children leading to the breeding of a large segment of children with stunted growth and associated compromised number recall, conceptual thinking, general cognition, and attention deficit which could manifest prominently in adult life. All efforts should therefore be intensified to meet adequate nutritional needs of all children in IDPs camps to ensure a healthy physical and mental future generation.