—-Seeks Continued Collaboration Between Govt, Development Partners To Combat Hunger
Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday called for the continued collaboration between the Executive and Legislative arms of government at the federal and state levels in the push to significantly reduce malnutrition and stop the deaths caused by the condition, especially among children.
In this regard, Shettima, identified programmes such as the N774 Initiative and the National Legislative Network on Nutrition and Food Security as sustainable routes through which the government can introduce and implement policies and laws to promote food security and combat malnutrition.
The N774 Initiative is a Federal Government programme targeted at revitalising and incentivising local action to improve food security, health, and nutrition in Nigeria. This is while the National Legislative Network on Nutrition and Food Security comprises of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, as well as the chairpersons and clerks of the Committee on Nutrition and Food Security in the 36 State Houses of Assembly.
The Vice-President spoke during the opening ceremony of the National Summit on Nutrition and Food Security, organised by the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security. The Summit formed part of the House of Representatives’ Open Week, set aside to mark the second anniversary of the 10th House.
The summit has as its theme: “Curbing Malnutrition and Food Insecurity Through Effective Synergies”.
Shettima averred that the government at all levels must take the challenge of malnutrition and its negative impact on the country seriously. The Vice-President described as highly unacceptable the fact that malnutrition is depriving about 40 percent of Nigerian children under the age of five of their full physical and cognitive potential.
The Vice-President was represented by Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President),
He said: “The (N774) Initiative is designed to have a direct impact in the most forgotten corners of our nation,” Shettima said, adding that urgent, coordinated action is needed to address Nigeria’s alarming nutrition crisis.
“We have witnessed the establishment of the National Legislative Network on Nutrition and Food Security and the replication of this committee across all 36 State Houses of Assembly. This is, without question, an unprecedented stride in our legislative engagement. Yet we must admit that the occasion that brings us here today is not a celebration”.
He added: “It is a reminder of the burden that we bear, a malnutrition crisis that continues to rob nearly 40% of Nigerian children under five of their physical and cognitive potential. It is a reminder that food insecurity is not only about hunger. It is also about whether our people can afford, access, and accept the food that meets their nutritional needs.
“It is about the economy. It is about education. It is about the very building blocks of human capital that this nation so urgently needs at this time of its development.
“But in the face of this adversity, we have chosen not to lament, but to lead. Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, nutrition has been repositioned as a central pillar of our national development strategy. At the heart of this strategy lies the Nutrition 774 Initiative, our flagship grassroots framework designed not for elegance on paper, but for impact in the most forgotten corners of our nation”.
“We are grateful to the World Bank for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria program, strengthening community-based nutrition systems in several states. We appreciate UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontières for the community-based management of acute malnutrition CMAM program, reaching the most vulnerable with lifesaving interventions. We recognise the ICAM project by GAIN, which marries nutrition with climate-smart agriculture, and the Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation Program, MMS, by Nutrition International, combating maternal anaemia and improving pregnancy outcomes.
“To all our other developmental partners, civil society actors, and private sector allies, we thank you. But let me say this clearly: the era of fragmented interventions is over. We can no longer afford parallel systems that dilute our collective strength.
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“It is time to align. Align with Nutrition 774, align with the national strategy, and align with the urgency of our national purpose. Nigeria needs one plan, one voice, one framework, and unified accountability. Anything less is a betrayal of the children who depend on us. To our distinguished legislators, this is your call to leadership.
“Budgetary allocations for nutrition must be consistent, adequate, and safeguarded. Oversight functions must transcend audits. They must measure impact. Policies must not die in chambers. They must live in communities. And legislation must guarantee that nutrition financing is not a matter of charity, but that of justice. Let this summit not be remembered for its attendance, but for its resolve”, Shettima further said.
Chief Host of the summit and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abbas, highlighted the need for a multi-sectoral and collaborative approach in dealing with the malnutrition challenge.
Abbas said, “Credible estimates place the annual economic cost at 12.2 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross National Income, approximately fifty-six billion dollars, while post-harvest losses alone account for two billion dollars each year. Such figures compel us to move beyond rhetoric to concrete, sustained interventions.
“To that end, the Committee is collaborating with stakeholders in all 36 States to transition from policy pronouncements to on-the-ground impact. Through capacity-building workshops and cross-sectoral consultations, we are addressing the root causes of malnutrition and strengthening the systems needed for rapid and effective response.
“Nigeria has every potential to become Africa’s food basket. Our vast arable lands and resilient farming communities position us to lead on food production and nutrition. We are championing the mainstreaming of nutrition-sensitive programmes into federal and state budgets and advocating policy reforms to institutionalise robust oversight and accountability.
“Currently, before the National Assembly are two transformative legislative initiatives. The first proposes six months’ maternity leave for nursing mothers, in alignment with global best practice to support early childhood nutrition and maternal health.
“The second aims to eradicate the unsafe sale of edible bulk oil in open markets, a practice that undermines public health and safety. Both measures are rooted in our commitment to protect the most vulnerable and invest in the nation’s future”.
In his welcome address, the Chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Hon Chike Okafor, listed the negative effects of malnutrition, from the impact on health, such as stunting, low birth weight, anaemia in children, adolescent girls and women, to the economic cost on the country.
Okafor said, “The cost of inaction on these parameters on Nigeria’s economy is aggregated to about 12.2% of the Country’s Gross National Income, about $56b, based on data from Nutrition International, I and the World Bank.
He added, “Food insecurity has been aggravated by post-harvest loss, estimated at $2b by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) yearly. This colossal loss alone is more than the Nutrition budget of the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Education and Women Affairs put together.
“This continued loss is not only unacceptable, but unsustainable given the austere times in which we currently live. On the above premise, my committee is working with those in the 36 states of the federation to do things differently”.
He said the House is undertaking strategic capacity-building sessions to have a better understanding of the root and dynamics of current nutrition and food security challenges in Nigeria and expressed hope that the capacity-building sessions are institutionalised in partnership with the National Institute of Democratic and Legislative Studies, with support from our ever-helpful development partners.
He said, “This will put us in a better position to provide strategic oversight to all nutrition and food-related interventions and implementing partners, including but not limited to the UN family, the World Bank, International and National NGOs, and of course the government at Federal, State and Local Government levels. By doing so, we will not only have more money for nutrition, but also more nutrition for the available money.
“We cannot continue to impose multiple levies on long articulated vehicles carrying food from one part of Nigeria to another, and expect food inflation to reduce. This is why the new Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 (NTAA), which introduces a unified procedural framework for the assessment, collection, enforcement and administration of taxes across all levels of government, is a welcome development. The President, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, deserves our commendation for this bold initiative.
“We now need proper sensitisation on the benefits of this tax law, which in the next couple of months will be reflecting on nutrition and food security and the Nigerian economy generally. We cannot continue to allow Development Partners to implement and oversee themselves on nutrition interventions, and expect better transparency and value for money.
“We cannot continue to borrow huge sums of money from multilateral institutions for nutrition interventions, and we don’t have a say as to how taxpayers’ money will be best spent, or ask questions if there are, to prevent infractions. We cannot continue to allow LGAs to invest in nutrition and food security outside the existing national guidelines and frameworks, without recourse to legislative oversight at state and local government levels.
“We cannot continue to fold our hands and our harvested food products rot away due to poor market access, or lack of access to the farmlands due to local insecurity. The time for action should have been yesterday, not now. But it is still not too late to act now”.
Okafor, commended development partners, including UNICEF, Nutrition International (NI), World Food Programme, CSUNN, Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, Gates Foundation, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) Hellen Keller International, FHI-360, on their commitment to improving nutrition and overall health outcomes in Nigeria.
“The development partners have been very supportive of the activities of this committee/the network from day one, kindly join me in appreciating them sir. Notable among them are UNICEF, World food programme, CSUNN, Food and Agriculture Organisatio, FAO, Gates Foundation, Global alliance for improved Nutrition, GAIN, Hellen Keller International, FHI-360, Nutrition International among others.
“I also want to place on record the supports to our work from inception from the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies,(MDAs),notably Budget and Economic Planning, Agriculture and Food Security, Health and Social Welfare among others,
“Working together, we will change the narrative under the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President for a better nourished and food secured Nigeria”, the lawmaker concluded.
