WASPEN Pushes Hospital-Based Nutrition Care as Nigeria Mobilises for 2026 Malnutrition Awareness Week
By Naomi Onome
The West African Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (WASPEN) has called for stronger attention to clinical nutrition and nutrition support services in Nigerian hospitals, stressing that the fight against malnutrition must extend beyond communities to patients receiving treatment in healthcare facilities.
The President and Founder of WASPEN, Dr. Teresa Isichei Pounds, made the call during a press conference ahead of the 2026 Malnutrition Awareness Week, organised in collaboration with the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN).
The 2026 campaign is being held under the theme, “Nutrition is a Team Effort.”
Dr. Pounds said the theme reflects the reality that addressing malnutrition requires more than one profession, institution or sector, but demands collective action by different stakeholders working together.
She noted that Nigeria had made progress over the past year in strengthening its national nutrition agenda through initiatives including the Nutrition 774 Initiative and the development of the National Policy on Food and Nutrition 2026–2035.
She also acknowledged increased attention to sustainable nutrition financing, micronutrient deficiencies and the critical first 1,000 days of life.
Dr. Pounds commended the Federal Government, National Council on Nutrition, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and other stakeholders for their contributions to the progress recorded in the sector.
She, however, said the country must now ensure that national nutrition efforts reach every person requiring nutrition care, including patients who are already sick and receiving treatment in hospitals.
According to her, malnutrition is often discussed in relation to food insecurity, children in communities, maternal nutrition, breastfeeding and micronutrient deficiencies, while its occurrence within healthcare facilities receives comparatively less attention.
She said some patients arrive at hospitals already malnourished, while others may become nutritionally depleted during illness or hospitalisation. Patients undergoing surgery or suffering from infections, cancer, trauma or critical illness may also have increased nutritional requirements, she added.
Dr. Pounds warned that nutrition can sometimes become secondary to the medical condition that brought a patient to hospital, despite its importance to the patient’s overall recovery. She said studies have demonstrated the implications of malnutrition among hospital patients, describing the issue as one that must receive greater attention within the healthcare system.
According to her, some studies have even described hospital malnutrition as a “skeleton in the hospital closet.”
She therefore called on healthcare institutions to strengthen nutrition screening, assessment, intervention and monitoring as part of routine patient care. She explained that once screening identifies a patient as malnourished or at nutritional risk, appropriate interventions should follow, including specialised nutrition support where clinically required.
Dr. Pounds further emphasised that nutrition care should be treated as a multidisciplinary responsibility rather than the exclusive responsibility of one professional group. She identified physicians, nurses, dietitians, nutritionists, pharmacists, laboratory professionals, community health workers and other healthcare professionals as important members of the nutrition care team.
She also identified hospital leadership, including Chief Medical Directors and Chairmen of Medical Advisory Committees, as having important roles in establishing systems that support effective nutrition care.
She stressed that teamwork does not mean that every professional performs the same function, but that each member contributes specialised knowledge towards achieving better patient outcomes.
The WASPEN founder urged stakeholders to move away from seeing nutrition as the territory of a particular professional group. She said the patient must remain at the centre of nutrition care, particularly where specialised nutrition support is required.
Dr. Pounds disclosed that some Nigerian healthcare institutions and CMDs had already embraced nutrition screening, early identification of nutritional problems and multidisciplinary nutrition support teams. She commended such institutions for taking the issue seriously and urged others to adopt similar structures.
WASPEN takes nutrition campaign beyond hospitals
Dr. Pounds said WASPEN had continued to promote nutrition across the entire continuum of care, from the community to the hospital and back to the community after discharge.
She recalled that the society’s 5th WASPEN Clinical Nutrition Conference in Asaba earlier this year was not limited to activities within the conference hall.
According to her, WASPEN also conducted community engagements in Ogwa Ukwu and Ahaba, taking nutrition awareness directly to the people. She said the experience reinforced the society’s belief that nutrition belongs both in the community and in hospitals.
Dr. Pounds explained that the two areas should not be treated as separate conversations because a person may receive nutrition education in the community, become ill, require hospital care and later return to the same community.
She therefore called for stronger connections between community nutrition, hospital nutrition, treatment, recovery and post-discharge care.
From awareness to action
Dr. Pounds said the 2026 Malnutrition Awareness Week would go beyond simply informing Nigerians that malnutrition exists.
She said the campaign would also challenge stakeholders to consider what could be done differently to identify and address malnutrition.
She called for routine identification of patients at nutritional risk and stronger multidisciplinary nutrition care structures within health facilities. She also advocated improved nutrition competencies among healthcare professionals.
According to her, appropriate systems and resources must be available for patients who require enteral and parenteral nutrition. She further stressed the need to measure nutrition care and outcomes as part of the quality of healthcare provided by institutions.
Dr. Pounds also called for more research to document the impact of nutrition interventions and provide evidence for continuous improvement in patient care.
She said these responsibilities cannot be left to government alone, stressing that healthcare institutions, professional organisations, academia, development partners, pharmaceutical companies and communities must collaborate.
She also acknowledged pharmaceutical companies supporting nutrition initiatives, but noted that gaps remain in the availability and affordability of specialised nutrition products.
According to her, identifying a patient as malnourished is only one part of the process, as the healthcare system must also have the necessary resources and products to provide appropriate care.
WASPEN establishes multidisciplinary teams
Dr. Pounds said WASPEN’s activities include professional education, conferences, webinars, partnerships and support for the establishment of multidisciplinary nutrition teams.
She disclosed that about six multidisciplinary teams had been formed in various institutions, beginning with Lagos and extending to Abuja and Asaba, among other locations.
She explained that WASPEN’s annual clinical nutrition conference moves from state to state and that the organisation works with host institutions through memoranda of understanding with their CMDs. She said the objective is to encourage healthcare institutions to establish sustainable nutrition structures.
Dr. Pounds, who lives in the United States but maintains a team in Nigeria, said she continues to monitor developments in the country to understand where WASPEN’s support is most needed.
Two major webinars scheduled
As part of the 2026 activities, WASPEN is organising two major webinars designed to move the conversation from awareness to practical clinical action.
The first webinar is titled “Nutrition Care is a Team Effort: Defining Roles, Building Partnerships, Improving Outcomes.”
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The webinar will focus on collaboration among professional groups, professional roles, partnerships and the policy environment required to strengthen nutrition care.
The second webinar is titled “From Screening to Recovery: The Multidisciplinary Nutrition Care Pathway in Practice.”
According to WASPEN, the second session will examine how nutrition care can progress from screening and identification through assessment, intervention, monitoring and recovery.
The organisation said the webinars would bring together professionals and stakeholders from different areas of the nutrition and healthcare system.
Federal Ministry, Nigerian and international experts to participate
WASPEN is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, particularly its Nutrition Department, for the 2026 campaign.
Guest speakers for the first and second days include Dr. Justine N. Olajide, Chairman, Multidisciplinary Nutrition Steering Committee, Federal Medical Centre, Asaba.
Others are Dr. (Med.) Christian Owoo, Director, Medical Training and Simulation Centre, University of Ghana Medical Centre, and Dr. (Pharm.) Jennifer Boateng, Clinical Pharmacy lead in the ICU, Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ghana.
Also listed are Nurse Oluwakemi Omoyeni, Head Nurse, Private Wing, University of Lagos Teaching Hospital; Dietitian Sarah Wright of Lagos University Teaching Hospital; and Prof. Lere Baale, Chief Executive of Business School Netherlands International and Chairman/President of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy.
Adegbite Olufunmilayo, Director, Nutrition Department, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Abuja, and Prof. Salisu Maiwada Abubakar, President, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, are also scheduled to participate.
International speakers include Dr. Zandraetta Tims-Cook, Medical Director of Faebris Medical and Education Heather Ivy Society, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
Also expected is Albert Barrocas, MD, FACS, FASPEN, Adjunct Professor of Surgery at Tulane University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
The diversity of speakers reflects WASPEN’s emphasis on bringing together expertise from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dietetics, nutrition, academia, government and international institutions.
Hospitals prepare nationwide activities
Several healthcare institutions across Nigeria are preparing activities to mark the 2026 Malnutrition Awareness Week.
Among the participating institutions are University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Adamawa University Teaching Hospital, Yola, Kwara Primary Health Care and participating institutions in Maiduguri.
Dietitian Folashade Adeleke RDN represented Adamawa University Teaching Hospital, Yola, Adamawa State, during the briefing.
Kate Onwuana represented Kwara Primary Health Care, while Zainab Buba represented Maiduguri.
The participating institutions have various sensitisation programmes lined up as part of the campaign.
A representative of one of the participating teaching hospitals said the institution had prepared programmes for patients and the hospital community.
The programmes include sensitization, clinical case presentations and hands-on training for healthcare professionals involved in nutrition care.
The representative said the institution was committed to making nutrition care more visible within the healthcare space.
FMC Asaba unveils five-day programme
At Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Dr. Justine N. Olajide said the institution had developed a week-long programme involving media engagements, staff sensitisation, nutritional assessments, webinars and a closing session.
According to her, the centre would use television and radio appearances to create awareness about the Malnutrition Awareness Week scheduled for Monday to Friday, September 21 to 25.
She said the programme would begin with a flag-off involving the Medical Director, Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, senior administrative officials, the nutrition steering committee and nurses selected for outreach activities.
Dr. Olajide said Tuesday would feature engagements designed to determine what hospital staff know about malnutrition and how they can work together as a team. She added that a webinar would also hold at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, she said the hospital would conduct assessments involving hospital staff, including measurements of body mass index, height, weight and other anthropometric indicators.
The information gathered would contribute to efforts to understand the prevalence of malnutrition within the hospital and other areas. The centre was also preparing jingles to be played periodically as part of the awareness campaign.
According to her, Thursday would feature presentations to hospital staff on the multidisciplinary nature of nutrition care and the importance of teamwork while Friday would include further outreach activities and a closing session.
Dr. Olajide also disclosed that the institution was working on T-shirts and banners and had begun sensitising heads of departments and members of the medical team about the programme.
WASPEN renews call for action
In her closing remarks, Dr. Pounds urged stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria’s national nutrition agenda embraces the full continuum of nutrition care, including acute and hospital-based care.
She commended the Federal Government for progress made so far and called for continued leadership in making nutrition a sustained national priority.
She urged stakeholders to continue strengthening nutrition in communities, protecting mothers and children during the critical first 1,000 days and addressing food and micronutrient insecurity.
She, however, stressed that attention must also be paid to patients in hospitals by asking whether they have been screened for nutritional risk and whether their nutritional needs have been properly assessed.
She said healthcare institutions should examine whether their teams have the knowledge, resources and systems required to respond to identified nutritional needs.
According to her, nutrition care should not automatically end when a patient is discharged because patients may require continued nutritional attention as they return to their communities.
Dr. Pounds reiterated that malnutrition is too complex for one profession to solve, too important for one sector to own and too serious to be addressed only after it becomes severe.
She said WASPEN would continue working with government, professional organisations, healthcare institutions, development partners and communities to ensure that nutrition receives the attention it deserves.
She stressed that the 2026 campaign should serve as an opportunity to move from awareness to action.
“From the community to the hospital, from prevention to treatment, and from screening to recovery, nutrition must remain part of the care that we provide,” Dr. Pounds said.
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