Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the Federal Government will fast-track the passage of the Food and Nutrition Bill to safeguard nutrition funding and ensure accountability in its implementation.
Speaking at the
Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Shettima said the proposed National Food and Nutrition Bill would provide a legal foundation for the government’s Nutrition 774 Initiative.
The initiative coordinates federal, state and local governments in delivering nutrition interventions across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
The legislation is also intended to establish clearer financial and administrative responsibilities among the three tiers of government, while strengthening oversight and accountability, Shettima said.
“With nutrition committees in 32 state assemblies, there is no better time for us to accelerate the development of a National Food and Nutrition Bill,” he said.
The bill, he added, would help protect nutrition financing and enforce accountability beyond individual administrations.
Nigeria, he said, has also established nutrition committees in more than 450 local governments, according to the vice president.
Under the Nutrition 774 framework, local governments are expected to serve as the primary units for planning, financing and measuring results.
“Each council, being the lowest tier of our system, is our unit of planning, financing and accountability,” Shettima said.
He said the government is working with states to develop cost plans covering health, agriculture, social protection, water, sanitation, hygiene and education.
Shettima said Nigeria’s $26 million commitment to the Child Nutrition Fund had attracted an equal amount in matching support, bringing the total available funding to $52 million.
Twenty-one states have also contributed $6.3 million since 2023 toward supplies used to prevent and treat malnutrition.
The government is preparing a Presidential Nutrition Investment Fund to provide catalytic financing, while a Nutrition Financing Subcommittee works to mobilize additional domestic resources.
“We can only claim that our budget fulfils its purpose when it nourishes a child,” Shettima said, adding that the government was linking public spending to measurable nutrition outcomes through scorecards and stronger monitoring systems.
The urgency is
underscored by Nigeria’s high rate of childhood malnutrition.
The Vice President said 40% of Nigerian children under five are affected by stunting, while undernutrition costs the economy an estimated $56 billion annually.
“We act to protect learning. We act to preserve earnings. We act to project productivity,” he said.
Nigeria’s National Policy on Food and Nutrition 2026–2035 targets a reduction in the national stunting rate to 32% by 2029, 28% by 2032 and 25% by 2035.
The government is also seeking greater participation from food vendors, small businesses, manufacturers, financiers and regulators.
Its private-sector engagement framework is designed to improve the availability and affordability of nutritious food.
Officials are working with industry and regulators to improve compliance with food-fortification standards for salt, flour, edible oil and sugar.
Nigeria and Ethiopia are expected to produce a joint statement outlining continued cooperation on nutrition.
Ethiopia has pursued its own long-term strategy through the Seqota Declaration, launched in 2015 with the goal of ending child stunting by 2030.
Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh said sustained political leadership, financing and accountability were essential to improving nutrition.
More than 100,000 Ethiopian children have been protected from malnutrition through community mobilization and improvements in the nutritional value of food, he said.
Ethiopia’s Health Minister, Mekdes Daba, said nutrition during the first 1,000 days of life affects a child’s health, education and future earning potential.
“Stunting affects far more than a child’s physical growth,” she said.
“Poor nutrition can limit brain development, weaken school performance, reduce future earnings and slow national economic progress.”
On the sidelines of the forum, Vice President Shettima and Tiruneh discussed broader cooperation between Nigeria and Ethiopia, including trade, investment, food security, aviation and security.
Tiruneh conveyed Ethiopia’s condolences to Nigeria over the recent Ondo air crash and urged both countries to convene their Joint Commission.
He also cited growing private-sector ties, including investments by the Dangote Group in Ethiopia.
Shettima said Nigeria and Ethiopia should expand cooperation in agriculture, domestic value addition, investment and economic development, particularly under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Both countries, he said, have a responsibility to use their large populations, resources and strategic positions to help drive Africa’s economic development.
