…And calls the $1 trillion economy a farce without it
A new independent policy analysis released today (July 7, 2026) draws on sixty years of demographic data to show how Nigeria’s child stunting crisis — largely concentrated in the North West and North East — could cost the country $412 billion in foregone GDP by 2043 if current trends continue.
Stunting, explained: Stunting is chronic malnutrition in early childhood — typically beginning before birth and continuing through a child’s first two years — that leaves children measurably shorter than the healthy average for their age. Low height is the visible marker; the more consequential and largely irreversible damage is to brain development, immune function, and lifelong learning and earning potential.
“The report highlights Obafemi Awolowo’s 1955 Western Region free education scheme — funded from regional resources, not loans — as a working domestic model for investing in people ahead of infrastructure.”
Key findings:
