Hospital malnutrition a silent epidemic, stakeholders raise alarm

Stakeholders in the health sector have raised alarm over the growing burden of hospital malnutrition in Nigeria, describing it as a “silent epidemic”.

Speaking at a virtual press conference ahead of the 5th Annual West African Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (WASPEN) Clinical Nutrition Conference on Monday, stakeholders warned that the condition continues to undermine patient recovery, increase treatment costs, and drive avoidable deaths across healthcare facilities.

Teresa Pounds, founder and president of WASPEN, said hospital malnutrition affects between 30% and 45% of patients on admission in tertiary hospitals, rising to as high as 71% among elderly wards in Enugu, noting that the condition is often missed due to weak screening systems and the absence of multidisciplinary nutrition teams.

She said evidence shows malnutrition is linked to longer hospital stays, higher infection rates, delayed wound healing, increased treatment costs, and higher mortality and readmission rates, warning that nutrition care is still not routinely integrated into clinical practice across many facilities.

Pounds decreed that malnutrition remains one of the most under-recognised threats to patient safety in hospitals, affecting patients across all age groups and clinical conditions, from premature newborns in intensive care units to adults living with chronic illnesses such as cancer, tuberculosis, HIV, and surgical conditions.

She said the problem persists largely because routine screening is inconsistent and many hospitals lack multidisciplinary nutrition support teams capable of early identification and intervention.

Pounds called on government institutions, healthcare leaders, professional bodies, and development partners to prioritise nutrition care as a core component of healthcare delivery, warning that improving outcomes would require early identification of malnutrition, stronger hospital systems, and coordinated multidisciplinary action.

Pounds further noted that over the past five years, WASPEN has hosted annual clinical nutrition conferences and supported the establishment of nutrition support steering committees in several tertiary institutions, including the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, the National Hospital Abuja, Army Command and NAOWA Hospital, Abuja, and the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital.

These committees, she said, are working to strengthen nutrition screening, early intervention, and multidisciplinary collaboration in patient management.

The 2026 conference, themed “Sustainable Clinical Nutrition Services: Ensuring Access, Safety, and Collaboration,” will focus on strengthening access to nutrition care, standardising clinical protocols, and improving collaboration between healthcare professionals, institutions, and policymakers. This year’s edition is expected to attract more than 300 participants from Nigeria and abroad.