The National Council on Nutrition (NCN) has approved a series of new measures aimed at tackling malnutrition and food insecurity across Nigeria including the creation of a national nutrition dashboard.
The announcement was made by the senior special assistant to the President on media and communications, Stanley Nkwocha, in a state house press release.
According to the press release, this initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s concerted efforts to enhance the nutritional well-being of all Nigerians.
During a meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, Vice President Kashim Shettima, who chairs the NCN, highlighted the necessity of active participation from all relevant parties, including ministries, departments, agencies, development partners, and other stakeholders.
The new measures
Among the new measures is the creation of a national nutrition dashboard.
- This platform, to be hosted by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, will also be accessible via the NCN website.
- Its purpose is to enhance oversight and coordination of nutrition-related initiatives throughout the country.
- VP Shettima highlighted the establishment of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit, which operates within the Presidential Economic Coordination Committee.
- This initiative signals the administration’s acknowledgment of the food crisis and its efforts to address its root causes to develop more resilient and sustainable food systems in Nigeria.
In his address to the meeting participants, Vice President Shettima commended the ongoing efforts of stakeholders in the nutrition sector and assured development partners and other actors of the federal government’s readiness to collaborate.
What you should know
Senator Shettima detailed the efforts of several frontline ministries in combating malnutrition and hunger, describing their actions as exemplary.
“The joint efforts of the Minister of Health and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy to restructure the World Bank project resources securing about $30 million for commodities is also highly commendable and deeply appreciated.
“The Ministry of Finance’s task force to accelerate cash transfer and the Ministry of Agriculture’s initiative to increase food availability and affordability further demonstrate our collaborative efforts,” he added.
Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to prioritizing nutrition as a crucial component of national development.
“This initiative provides us an opportunity to step up our collective efforts to improve the country’s food and nutrition security,” Bagudu said.
He pointed out that the meeting, which received updates on Nigeria’s current nutritional status, focused on proposing actionable recommendations and enhancing the implementation of existing nutrition intervention programs in line with national policy.
Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, detailed eight priority areas designed to address the nation’s nutritional needs.
These include enhancing value chains for improved nutrition, diversifying household production and consumption with a focus on women, improving access to micronutrient-rich foods, and enhancing food safety along the value chain.
The strategy also involves building resilience and social protection networks for vulnerable groups, promoting nutrition research, improving the agriculture sector’s capacity to address food security and nutrition issues, providing nutrition education, social marketing, and advocacy, and conducting nutrition surveillance, monitoring, and evaluation to ensure the effectiveness of the initiatives.