Professor Ngozi Nnam, is one woman who has made indelible mark in the education and nutrition sector as a professor of Public Health Nutrition affiliated to the Department of Home Science, Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria, she currently sits as the President of Nutrition Society of Nigeria and chairman Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria aside consulting for many agencies and organisations. Chinyere Abiaziem, met with her and she shared her career journey and issues relating to women’s health and nutrition. Excerpts:
Prof Nnam
How has the journey of your career been so far?
God has been with me to bless all my efforts. I started my career after my youth service as a secondary school teacher at Community Secondary school Obimo in Nsukka, LGA Enugu state in 1982 as an Education Officer. I quickly registered for Post Graduate Diploma Programme in Education (PGDE) with University of Nigeria Nsukka. I successfully completed the programme in 1983 and enrolled for Master’s programme in Education (Guidance and Counseling) and obtained the certificate in 1985. In 1986, I joined the services of University Secondary school Nsukka as Master 1 and later transferred my services to Federal College of Education Eha-Amufu as Lecturer III in the Department of Home Economics in 1987. I served as Head of the department from 1992 to 1996. While lecturing at Eha-Amufu, I enrolled for a second Master’s degree in Human Nutrition. I completed the programme in 1989 and enrolled for PhD (Human Nutrition) in 1990.
Subsequently, I successfully graduated in 1994 as the best graduating student in my Faculty (Faculty of Agriculture). In 1996, I joined the services of University of Nigeria Nsukka as Lecturer 1 and rose to the Rank of professor in 2003. Currently I am a Professor of Community and Public Health Nutrition in the Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics University of Nigeria Nsukka. I have served the Department as Head of Department from 2007 to 2008, then 2010 to 2014. I am the current Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, a position I assumed in 2014.
While serving in University of Nigeria Nsukka, I served in many outside bodies like National Commission for Colleges of Education, National University commission, Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), Civil Society Scalling up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) among others. I have served NSN in various capacities like National Assistant Secretary (2 years), National General Secretary for two terms (4 years), Vice President for two terms (4 years), Council member (2 years).
Presently, I am serving my second term as President of the Society. I am also the current Chairman of CS-SUNN. I review and serve as editorial board member for many national and international journals. Over time I have presented many papers at national, International and regional conferences, workshops and seminars and have bagged a lot of awards. I have more than seventy journal articles in peer reviewed national, international and impact factor journals.
How do you cope with the pressure of work and managing your home?
I try to manage my time by having a work plan to take care of my “to do list”. At times I may need to put in extra time before going to bed to ensure I have accomplished most of the items in my “to do list”.
How well are Nigerians eating healthy?
Many Nigerians depend mainly on the staple foods like rice,garri, yam,bread, cassava and its products with little intake of beans. The Intake of fruits and vegetables is minimal and need to be increased .
Can breast cancer be traced to nutrition?
Breast cancer can be traced to nutrition. Adequate intake of fruits and vegetables could help prevent breast cancer. This is because fruits and vegetables contain a lot of antioxidants that could help detoxify toxic substances that could precipitate cancer.
What health mistakes do women make?
Some women eat a lot of starchy foods with sedentary life style. They should try and diversify their diet to make for adequate nutrient intake and good health. They should also do some physical exercise to keep fit.
What measure should Nigerians especially women take to prevent cancerous diseases?
To prevent cancerous diseases we should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables
How should Nigerians regulate what they eat in order to stay healthy?
We should plan our meal using the food guide pyramid. At the base are the cereals roots and tubers, then the fruits and vegetables, followed by the legumes, meat, poultry, egg and milk. At the tip are fats and oil. We should try and have at least a food item from each of the groups when planning our meal. The quantity of each food in the meal depends on the position of the food in the pyramid. Fats and oil at the apex should be very small while those at the base should be more than others.
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