Poor household income major constraint to protein intake in Nigeria

High cost of protein-rich foods and low income of households have been identified as major constraints to protein intake in Nigeria.

Besides that, lack of adequate knowledge and information about nutritional contents and values have also been identified as the second threatening factor to protein intake.

In report titled “The Nigerian Protein Deficiency Awareness Report 2020: Unpacking the numbers, exploring the issues”, sponsored by Mediacraft, a communications agency, noted that protein is expensive and if an average Nigerian lives on a dollar a day, it means he will not have enough to pay for protein.

The report presented during a virtual conference, Obaro Obaro Oghoro calculated that if the average cost of protein per meal is N80.00, it means that N240,000 will be spent a day, meaning 65 percent will be spent on food for protein.

With the panel discussants including Beatrice Chinyem Oganah-Ikujenyo of the department of Home Economics, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Oto/Ijanikin Lagos; Kehinde Adetunji, provost, College of Agriculture, Osun State University; and Adepeju Adeniran, national chair at Women in Global Health Nigeria, as anchor, the subject was intelligently explored.

The report also identified the lack of adequate awareness as another constraint. “There is very little awareness of campaigns around Protein Consumption. Even with the Protein Challenge Campaign. Awareness is only slightly higher among the nutritionists.”

Modestus Anaesoronye

Modestus Anaesoronye is a leading Nigerian financial journalist with over two decades of experience reporting on the insurance and pension sectors across Nigeria and West Africa. He has held key editorial positions at major national media outlets, including The Comet, The Nation, and Financial Standard, and currently serves as a Senior Financial Analyst at BusinessDay Media Ltd. A widely travelled reporter, he has covered industry developments in more than 14 countries across Africa and Asia. Anaesoronye is a multiple award-winning journalist, honoured several times as Insurance Journalist of the Year and Pension Journalist of the Year by recognised industry bodies, including PensionScope and the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), among others.