By Jeremiah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
NATIONAL NUTRITION planning advanced as the National Council on Nutrition ((NCN) approved Nigeria’s National Policy on Food and Nutrition (NNPFN) 2026 to 2035 for transmission to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for final ratification.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the Council directed all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to establish functional State Councils on Nutrition within three months to deepen sub national ownership of interventions.
Decisions were taken at the Council’s 15th meeting held virtually and chaired by Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
The policy was described as a comprehensive and multi sectoral framework expected to guide nutrition and food security interventions over the next decade.
Summarising the meeting, the Vice-President said policy decisions carry human consequences, noting that behind every statistic “is a Nigerian child whose life chances are shaped by what government does or fails to do.”
“We will be judged not by our deliberations but by our deliveries. Not by what we decided in April 2026, but by what mothers and children across the 774 local government areas experience by 2035,” he said.
Shettima described the policy as “the most consequential nutrition policy this country has produced,” adding that it is evidence based, grassroots driven and cuts across sectors.
He said the policy is not limited to a single ministry but belongs to “every ministry, every state, every local government, every ward, and every household represented in the work of this Council.”
The Council mandated the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (FMBEP) to transmit the policy to the FEC and directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to align their programmes, plans and budgets with its provisions within 12 months.
States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were instructed to operationalise their multisectoral plans of action on food and nutrition within six to nine months.
On legislation, the Council approved a six-week extension for submission of a draft National Nutrition Bill (NNB) and directed that it be transmitted to the National Assembly (NASS) within eight weeks.
The Vice President said the proposed law would provide a legal framework to safeguard nutrition financing and define responsibilities across federal, state and local governments.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the council expanded the nutrition financing sub-committee to include the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the Commissioners of Finance Forum and the Association of Local Governments (ALGs) of Nigeria.
He said the sub-committee would coordinate with the Nutrition 774 Strategic Board to ensure synergy and avoid duplication.
The Council approved the establishment of a co-branded nutrition intervention window to be launched within 60 days in partnership with the Dangote Foundation and relevant ministries.
The Vice-President highlighted the role of the Nutrition 774 Initiative as a framework for delivering interventions across all 774 local government areas.
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