MICROSOFT Co-founder, Bill Gates, stated that enhancing agricultural productivity is key to addressing malnutrition, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Gates, who is also Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, made this assertion today at Nutrivision 2024, a Pan-African Youth Dialogue on Nutrition held at Nile University in Abuja.
Gates highlighted that making food more affordable and accessible, along with the adoption of better seeds, would significantly help in reducing malnutrition, which he identified as a major obstacle to unlocking human potential.
“If you are malnourished, you are at a much higher risk. If you contract malaria or diarrhoea, your risk of dying from these diseases is doubled. Even if you survive, malnutrition can impede your ability to excel in education or other activities.
“We see malnutrition leading to stunted growth, which is measured by height for age. One of the ways to address this is by improving agricultural productivity. Part of the solution to malnutrition is ensuring access to low-cost foods, particularly milk.
“Increasing food availability at lower costs, using better seeds, and understanding that with climate change, we can develop seeds that require less water or can thrive in conditions with excess water, will still allow for high productivity,” Gates explained.
He pointed out that a significant number of people in Sub-Saharan Africa are undernourished, and regrettably, the rate is not yet decreasing.
Gates also noted that high inflation in Nigeria and other countries is making it more difficult to reduce malnutrition, especially in terms of access to quality food.
Gates described the situation as perplexing, as many children who are malnourished have access to enough food, but their diets are often insufficiently balanced, preventing them from absorbing essential nutrients.
He further emphasized that since malnutrition begins early in life, one of the most effective ways to combat it is to support mothers before and during pregnancy.
He mentioned that many of their initiatives focus on providing assistance to mothers throughout pregnancy.
“New Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) have been added to those that pregnant women receive during prenatal visits. I’ve just learned that three million bottles of MMS will be arriving in the country to help prevent two million cases of maternal anaemia and save the lives of 70,000 babies. Very soon, mothers will have access to these essential vitamins,” Gates said.
He expressed his enthusiasm about the Gates Foundation increasing its investment in nutrition but acknowledged that solving this issue is complex, necessitating collaboration with both the health and agricultural sectors.