FG To Create Nutrition Departments In More Govt Agencies – VP Shettima
By Fatima Mohammed
The federal government has said that it will encourage the creation of a nutrition department in key ministries, departments and agencies in the country.
Vice President, Kashim Shettima who disclosed this when he received members of the Nutrition Core Working Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, pointed out that this is aimed at accelerating its implementation and related interventions in Nigeria.
The interaction, which provided an avenue for stakeholders to discuss the challenges and potential solutions for scaling up nutrition in Nigeria had in attendance stakeholders from government agencies, civil society organisations, the UNICEF, nongovernmental organisations as well as the World Bank.
Shettima said federal government will advocate the establishment of nutrition departments in designated federal ministries and also prioritize advocacy campaigns on funding of nutrition and related activities.
According to the Vice President, the ministries of Water Resources and Sanitation; Science and Technology; Budget and Economic Planning; Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development; Information as well as National Orientation; Education and Women Affairs, will be encouraged to expedite action in the creation of nutrition departments in their domains.
He assured that the federal government will prioritize such programmes in the country, adding that his office will also create a dashboard to monitor and track the activities of stakeholders in the space.
He encouraged state governments to take advantage of interventions provided by donor agencies, particularly UNICEF’s Child Nutrition Fund.
According to the Vice President, “Financing is key in addressing nutrition and related issues hence, I urge this committee to aim higher and set bigger targets and all stakeholders must be collectively engaged and involved in the advocacy campaign on nutrition in Nigeria.
“We have to come up with ingenious ways of improving advocacy hence every stakeholder must be involved, including the private sector.”
Speaking on the UNICEF’s matching fund programme for scaling up activities in states, Shettima urged state governments to key into the initiative, noting that improvement in the commitment shown by sub-nationals will be required to attract improved private sector support in financing of interventions.
On his part, the Senior Health Advisor at the Nigerian Governors Forum Secretariat, Dr Ahmad Abdulwahab lauded the Vice President’s approach of galvanizing the participation of the sub-nationals in enhancing nutrition in the country.
To address the challenges in scaling up interventions, Abdulwahab said that the committee was recommending the implementation of the Strategic Roadmap for Transformative Nutrition and Food Security in Nigeria.
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