Human capital is critical in this fourth generation where technology is changing the nature of work and putting a premium on higher-order skills. The benefits of improving human capital are enormous. However, the menace of malnutrition is inimical both to the current and future generation’s workforce. Proper nutrition right from conception all through life is correlated to Human Capital Index and the progress of nations. Well-nourished citizens are healthier, happier and more productive. Hence, the Government and members of the society must ensure that they collaborate to fight malnutrition which negatively impacts on the progress and development of any society.

1. MALNUTRITION AND HUMAN CAPITAL INDEX IN THE 4TH REVOLUTION
Human capital is critical in this fourth generation where
technology is changing the nature of work and putting a
premium on higher-order skills such as cognition and
socio-emotional aptitudes.
The many benefits of improving human capital are
ubiquitous. However, the menace of malnutrition is
enormous and disadvantageous both to the current and
future generation’s workforce of any society. Adequate
Nutrition right from conception all through life is
correlated to Human Capital Index and the progress of any
nation. Well-nourished people tend to be healthier,
happier and more productive.

2. Pertinently, the quantity and quality of healthcare and
education are critical to the human capital index of any
population. The failure of Government, corporate organisations
and individuals to invest sufficiently in nutrition-sensitive and
nutrition specific programmes in these sectors is majorly
responsible for underdevelopment and poverty in my country.
Proper nutrition during early childhood improves physical and
mental well-being. The fastest synaptic growth in brain
development occurs between the prenatal period and age 3.
Investments focused on the first 1,000 days of a child is the most
cost-effective investment anyone or country can make to any
child.

3. Proper nutrition sets children up for better learning and higher
wages in future. Moreover, physical, sensory-motor, cognitive,
and socioemotional development are inter- dependent,
constituting a web of dynamic links that ultimately determine a
person’s ability to thrive. Weak foundations, by contrast, result
in the accumulation of learning gaps, as well as higher risks of
poor biological development that hamper skill formation—with
repercussions over the life cycle.

4. Among adults who are caregivers, bread winners and
constituents of the current workforce, disease, absenteeism,
lack of motivation and enthusiasm negatively impacts on their
productivity and economic value. Good food that has the
adequate nutrients in the right proportion can improve the
health and well-being of adults. It will also give them the
motivation to commit to life-long learning such that they are
able to transit and acquire the higher-order skill crucial to
remaining relevant and valuable in the labour market and
society.

5. Poverty, ignorance and bad leadership are among the major
obstacles to the achievement of food security and nutrition that
is critical to improved human capital index. Social norms,
inefficient systems and lack of participation in government by a
majority of the citizens must be addressed for any positive
change.
The failure of leaders to lay the foundation for their citizens to
lead productive lives will likely widen the gap of inequality and
put security at risk as unmet aspirations usually lead to unrest.
The socio-economic benefits of Government’s sufficient
investment in nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific
programmes to their citizens include reduction of crime hence,
security and stability, social participation and inclusion.

6. Proper remuneration of medical professionals and teachers as
well as the sponsorship of their retraining will immensely impact
of the progress and development of the citizens and by
extension the Gross National Development Products.
Corporate organisations must live up to their corporate social
responsibility (CSR) by complimenting the efforts of the
Government in Public Private Partnership (PPP) towards the
development of the individual for self-reliance and meaningful
life for their businesses to thrive.
When countries fail to invest productively, the poorest of its
citizens suffer the most. Human capital matters for people,
economies, societies and global societies.