The West African Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, in collaboration with the Indian Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, has called for urgent reforms in clinical nutrition protocols, urging hospitals to adopt a “golden hour” approach to nutritional screening to curb rising cases of hospital malnutrition.
The appeal was made during a high-level global webinar themed “Strengthening Clinical Nutrition Care Through Effective Nutrition Assessment,” where international experts described hospital malnutrition as a silent but deadly global health crisis requiring immediate attention.
Delivering the keynote address, the Chief Clinical Dietitian at Apollo Hospitals, Daphnee Lovesley stressed that early nutritional intervention must begin at the point of admission.
The Chief Clinical Dietitian revealed that every 60 seconds, at least 11 hospitalised patients go undiagnosed with malnutrition.
According to her, up to two-thirds of patients are already malnourished upon admission, with the figure rising to as high as 85 per cent in parts of Africa.
She warned that delays beyond the first 24 hours in initiating nutritional care significantly increase the risk of complications and mortality.
“If we delay our nutrition prescription for more than 24 hours, the patient is at extreme risk,” she cautioned.
Dr Lovesley advocated a mandatory “golden hour” framework, recommending that all patients undergo nutritional screening within the first six hours of admission.
She explained that early detection is key to preventing complications such as Sarcopenia, which contributes to frailty, fractures, and poor recovery outcomes.
Dr Lovesley also highlighted the need to adopt the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition framework, which enables multidisciplinary teams to identify high-risk patients using indicators such as recent weight loss, reduced dietary intake, and disease severity.
Supporting the call, the President of WASPEN, Teresa Pounds underscored the need for structured implementation of clinical nutrition systems across Nigeria.
She urged the Federal Government to ensure the full operationalisation of Nutritional Steering Committees across healthcare facilities.
Dr Pounds called on Chief medical directors and hospital administrators in both public and private institutions to prioritise routine nutritional assessments for all admitted patients and establish multidisciplinary teams to ensure screening within 24 hours.
She emphasised that nutrition care must be recognised as a core component of treatment outcomes, noting that stronger institutional commitment is required.
“When we work together, we achieve more. Nigeria is making meaningful progress, but global best practices must be domesticated,” she said.
Experts at the webinar also advocated a multidisciplinary approach involving physicians, nurses, and dietitians.
Key recommendations included protected mealtimes to allow patients to eat without interruptions and a “food-first” protocol prioritising natural dietary intake before supplementation.
Dr Lovesley noted that untreated malnutrition can prolong hospital stays by two to three days, while increasing vulnerability to infections, delayed wound healing, and premature death, thereby placing additional strain on healthcare systems.
In her closing remarks, Dr Pounds described clinical nutrition as a critical pillar of public health and invited stakeholders to the WASPEN conference scheduled for June 22–25, 2026, aimed at advancing nutrition practice across the region.
She reaffirmed that nutritional assessment remains the most effective tool for preventing morbidity and early mortality, pledging WASPEN’s commitment to placing nutrition at the centre of healthcare delivery in Nigeria and across West Africa.