ABUJA — The West African Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, WASPEN, has opened Malnutrition Awareness Week 2026 with a call to make nutrition an integral part of hospital treatment, not just community programmes. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, WASPEN President and Founder, Dr. Teresa Isichei Pounds, said this year’s theme “Nutrition is a Team Effort” reflects the need for all health professionals to work together to address malnutrition.
Dr. Pounds acknowledged federal efforts including the Nutrition 774 Initiative and the new National Policy on Food and Nutrition 2026–2035, but stressed that patients in hospitals are often overlooked. She noted that many patients enter facilities already malnourished, while others become depleted during illness, surgery, cancer or critical care. Drawing from WASPEN’s 5th Clinical Nutrition Conference in Asaba and community outreach in Delta, she said nutrition must be connected across community and clinical settings, with screening, assessment and support built into routine care.
WASPEN will hold two webinars this week focused on multidisciplinary roles and practical nutrition care pathways from screening to recovery. The Society urged government, hospitals, professional bodies and partners to strengthen nutrition structures in facilities, build staff competencies, and provide systems for enteral and parenteral support. “Malnutrition is too serious to address only when it becomes severe,” Dr. Pounds said, adding that nutrition must be treated as a team, community, healthcare and national responsibility if Nigeria is to improve health outcomes.
