Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday inaugurated the National Council on Nutrition to help the federal government further efforts in improving the wellbeing of Nigerians.
The Council is chaired by the Vice President with membership including the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), ministers of Health, Water Resources, Budget and National Planning, the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, development partners, the organized private sector, Civil Society Organisations, the former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido, among others.
The council had in 2021 approved a five-year nutrition action plan to guide the implementation of interventions and programmes against hunger and malnutrition across all sectors of the country.
There are concerns if any progress has been made in line with the vision of the five year plan.
Reports indicate that Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 percent of children under five. It is also estimated that at least two million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
