Shettima Moves To Secure Nutrition Funding With New Bill

Vice President Kashim Shettima has announced plans to accelerate the development of a National Food and Nutrition Bill to safeguard nutrition funding, strengthen accountability and ensure continuity of interventions beyond successive administrations.

Shettima made this known on Wednesday at the Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange Forum in Addis Ababa, where he said the proposed legislation would provide stronger backing for the Federal Government’s Nutrition 774 Initiative.

The Vice President said the initiative was designed to create a unified framework for federal, state and local governments to tackle malnutrition, with local councils serving as the primary units for planning, financing and accountability.

He noted that nutrition committees had already been established in 32 State Houses of Assembly and more than 450 local governments, providing a basis for stronger legislative and institutional action.

“We are convinced that, 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 and the advancement of a federal, state and local compact to protect financing and enforce accountability beyond administrations,” Shettima said.

The Vice President disclosed that Nigeria’s $26 million commitment to the Child Nutrition Fund had attracted matching support, effectively unlocking $52 million, while 21 states had contributed $6.3 million since 2023 towards supplies for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition.

He said the proposed Presidential Nutrition Investment Fund would provide catalytic financing, while the Nutrition Financing Subcommittee was working to mobilise additional domestic resources.

Shettima said the urgency of the intervention was underscored by the country’s stunting rate, noting that about 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five are affected, with undernutrition estimated to cost the Nigerian economy $56 billion annually.

“We can only claim that our budget fulfils its purpose when it nourishes a child,” he said, stressing the need to link public expenditure to measurable nutrition outcomes through scorecards and stronger domestic financing.

He added that the government was also working with food vendors, manufacturers, small and medium enterprises, financiers and regulators to improve access to affordable nutritious food and strengthen compliance with food fortification requirements.

The forum also provided an opportunity for Nigeria and Ethiopia to strengthen bilateral cooperation, with Shettima and Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Temesgen Tiruneh, holding talks on trade, investment, food security, aviation and security.

Both sides also agreed to work towards a joint statement to sustain cooperation on nutrition, while Nigeria expressed interest in drawing lessons from Ethiopia’s Seqota Declaration, the country’s long-term initiative to eliminate child stunting.

Shettima said Nigeria and Ethiopia, as two of Africa’s most populous countries, had a responsibility to leverage their populations, resources and strategic positions to advance continental development.

He also reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening the Nigeria-Ethiopia Joint Commission and expanding cooperation in investment, agriculture, economic development and security.