Shettima Demands Ring-Fenced Funding for Nutrition, Urges Swift Passage of National Nutrition Bill
Shettima Demands Ring-Fenced Funding for Nutrition, Urges Swift Passage of National Nutrition Bill
Shettima Demands Ring-Fenced Funding for Nutrition, Urges Swift Passage of National Nutrition Bill
Vice President Kashim Shettima has called for the ring-fencing of nutrition financing in Nigeria, warning that without protected funding, the gap between government promises and tangible improvements in citizens’ lives will continue to widen.
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Shettima made the call during a virtual meeting of the National Council on Nutrition (NCN), which he chairs, where members resolved to establish a Nutrition Financing Subcommittee to design a sustainable funding framework for national nutrition programmes.
The newly constituted subcommittee has been given 30 days to develop a financing roadmap for Nigeria’s nutrition interventions and submit it to the NCN and the National Economic Council (NEC) for review and adoption.
The panel will be chaired by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, and includes the Ministers of Education, Water Resources, Women Affairs, and Science and Technology, alongside the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health. The Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning will serve as the secretariat.
Vice President Shettima also directed the inclusion of development partners and private sector actors in the committee, including the Aliko Dangote Foundation, to strengthen funding support for nutrition programmes.
Speaking after the meeting, the Vice President stressed the need to urgently pursue the National Nutrition Bill, describing it as critical to establishing a strong legal and institutional framework for coordination, financing, and accountability in Nigeria’s nutrition sector.
He emphasized that effective nutrition reforms require more than policy commitments, insisting that budget allocations must be matched with timely releases and proper utilization by ministries, departments, and agencies.
“Budgeting without release is not financing. Allocation without predictability is not reform,” Shettima stated, adding that government institutions must now account for measurable changes in the lives of Nigerians rather than figures on paper.
The Council also highlighted the importance of the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project in addressing service delivery gaps in high-burden states. Shettima urged state governors to accelerate implementation at the subnational level to ensure effective use of available resources.
He noted that improving nutrition outcomes requires stronger engagement at the grassroots level, stressing that states, local governments, community leaders, and frontline workers must play active roles in implementation.
The Council further resolved that women should remain central to Nigeria’s nutrition strategy, acknowledging their critical role in household nutrition, childcare, and food systems.
“Our collective responsibility is to ensure that the policies and commitments we make here translate into real improvements in homes and communities across all 774 local government areas of Nigeria,” the Vice President said.
Updates presented at the meeting showed progress in national nutrition budgeting and implementation efforts, while identifying funding gaps across ministries and states. The Council also received reports on the Food and Nutrition Security Preparedness Plan and the rollout of the Nutrition 774 initiative.
Members were informed that State Councils on Nutrition have already been inaugurated in nine states—Abia, Adamawa, Borno, Cross River, Jigawa, Plateau, Rivers, Yobe, and Zamfara—with more expected to follow.
Participants at the meeting, including representatives of state governments, development partners such as UNICEF, and the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, reaffirmed their commitment to supporting nutrition-focused initiatives nationwide.
Shettima Demands Ring-Fenced Funding for Nutrition, Urges Swift Passage of National Nutrition Bill
