Sustainable Health Counselling Strategies for Reducing the Impact of Malnutrition Among Rural Children in Nigeria

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to survey the sustainable health counselling strategies for reducing the impact of malnutrition among rural children in Nigeria.

METHOD: The population of the study comprised the entire 209 counsellors. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected.

RESULTS: The result showed found that providing information about adequate food intake for sustainable health, awareness creation, and counselling, organizing conference on healthy nutrition, providing health awareness for sustainable growth; educating preschoolers’ caregivers on fibre, knowledge of the best choice, knowledge of the sources of vitamin B12; assessing nutritional status of children; information on underweight to avoid obesity; and improving scope feeding behaviour through counselling are strategies that could reduce impacts of malnutrition among rural children in Nigeria. No significant was observed between male and female respondents with regards to sustainable health counselling strategies for reducing the impact of malnutrition among rural children.

CONCLUSION/SUGGESTION: Since eating practice of the rural children is poor and counselling strategies have been suggested, there is an urgent need for implementation of those strategies. Since evidence-based literature indicated that rural children in developing countries are at high risk of malnutrition and our findings showed strategies to reduce the proportion of children suffering from malnutrition, it implies that a Nutrition Rehabilitation Programme should be introduced to educate them on best nutritional practices.