Nigeria, Sept. 13 -- In Nigeria's south-south region, many women carry a heavy burden as mothers who serve as the providers for their families. Behind their resilience lies a quiet struggle that affects the nutritional and emotional well-being of their children.

They often engaged in informal work and, faced with limited financial support, stretched meagre earnings to keep their families afloat. But survival comes at a steep price - malnutrition, mental stress, and emotional gaps that ripple across generations.

Joan Ukadike, a petty trader and mother of four from Alihame in Delta State, knows this reality all too well.

The weight of responsibility often extends beyond financial burdens to a quieter, more insidious toll on her health, t...