Olabisi Joseph’s life feels like a story out of an African Magic movie that opens with the protagonist yet again asking for credit from the food seller, resulting in a verbal washdown that would break their spirit even more.
But beneath these poorly executed movies lay the stories of real people who inspire them. People like Olabisi Joseph, whom you may never encounter in your daily life but whose stories are important. For Olabisi and her family, accessing food and other basic amenities to cater for herself and her family became increasingly difficult due to the rising cost of living.
Source: Proshare Research
Living in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital and supposed land of opportunities, has done nothing to improve Olabisi and her family’s chances of a life of basic comfort. Olabisi, her husband, and their two children, both under the age of five, often went to bed with empty stomachs after their daily toiling amounted to nothing, as was often the case. To survive, Olabisi and her family routinely skipped meals, and when they did have meals, they often lacked the essential nutrients needed for optimal growth and development. As a nursing mother, Olabisi also had to grapple with the emotional stress of managing her accumulated debts to food vendors and constantly asking family and friends for support.
For Olabisi’s young children, the dangers of routinely skipping meals went beyond the painful pangs of hunger they felt. Malnutrition in children can have severe consequences that go beyond their childhood. According to the World Health Organisation, children who suffer from growth retardation as a result of poor diets are at a greater risk of illness and death. They also suffer delayed mental development and reduced intellectual capacity.
In June 2024, UNICEF reported that around 11 million Nigerian children were experiencing severe child food poverty. This meant that one in every three Nigerian children under five years old was malnourished. Through its annual food distribution efforts, Lluvia Health helps families like Olabisi Joseph’s to access essential nutrition by providing boxes filled with free food items that can enable the family to have balanced meals for a week. These food distribution projects in urban slums like Addo and Ikota have allowed us to reach 1,703 individuals in 400 vulnerable families with essential food supplies, Vitamin A supplements, and deworming tablets.
Caption: Upon receiving a box of food items, Olabisi tearfully said, “This will help me a lot; it will go a long way because I had already given up.”
Beyond providing immediate relief to underserved communities and bringing smiles to the faces of children and their families, this food distribution initiative also helps Nigeria protect its future. Malnutrition increases healthcare costs, reduces productivity, and slows economic growth, which can perpetuate a cycle of poverty and ill health in a country. Not to mention that women with stunted childhood growth are also likely to have children with low birth weight and are at a greater risk of obstetric complications.
The value of providing nutrition for today goes beyond today, and we all must continue to help bridge the gap between children and the nutrition they require to lead healthier and optimal lives for the future.
