Nutrition: Nigeria Tasked On Urgent Actions To Close Gaps Caused By COVID-19, Climate Change 

As stakeholders brainstorm on action steps to advance nutrition data value chain in the country, the minister of state for budget and national planning, Prince Clement Agba, has said that the country must take urgent steps to close the nutrition gaps created by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

The minister stated this yesterday at the National Nutrition Data and Results Conference, organised by the ministry with support from the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) and other partners, in Abuja.

Stressing the need to invest in nutrition, Agba said investment in nutrition have effects for years to come adding that every child has the opportunity to survive and strive.

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He said that nutrition is not just a health issue but it is about the potential of the next generation.

In his opening remarks, the minister of state for health, Hon. Ekumankama Joseph, said the National Nutrition Data Result Conference is a platform for government, key stakeholders and experts in the nutrition landscape to interact and share experiences on the nutrition data framework as well as discuss issues related to nutrition data.

He said “Good nutrition is vital for good health, therefore quality nutrition data at the national and sub national levels are fundamental for designing good programmes that address nutritional health burdens and track progress on implementation towards achieving the nutrition targets of the National Multi-Sectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (NMPFAN, 2021-2025) and the 2030 Sustainable Development goals.”

Ekumankama said in alignment with outputs of the United Nations food system dialogue held in New York on the 23rd of September 2021, and the Food System Transformation Call to Action by Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Health is poised to develop a nutrient profiling system and the quantitative food-based dietary guidelines for Nigerians.

This, he said will boost good nutrition education for all and institutionalised sustainably through integration into the school curriculum.

The president, Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), Wasiu Akinloye Afolabi, said government and partners have seen the need to actually add value to the issue of nutrition in the as a key instrument for nutrition development in the country.

He said over the years, Nigeria has been implementing a number of programmes in order to address the myriad of nutritional problems in the country.

“For the first time, partners and government are coming together to collect nutrition data to analyse and also to write reports and results as well as make data available for planning by decision makers for programmes.

“Most to the activities of government, we cannot feel the impact because of lack of adequate planning due to lack of nutrition data.

“Nigeria is going to chat a new cause in the way they address nutrition program in the country because with adequate nutrition programme, they can budget both in terms of funding and in terms of beneficiaries of their programmes.”