The National Council on Nutrition (NCN), chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, has established a Nutrition Financing Subcommittee to develop a funding roadmap for Nigeria’s nutrition programmes.

VP Shettima called for ring-fenced financing to ensure commitments translate into real improvements in citizens’ lives and urged the urgent passage of the National Nutrition Bill.

The subcommittee, chaired by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, includes ministers from Education, Water Resources, Women Affairs, and Science and Technology, with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning as Secretariat. Development partners, including the Aliko Dangote Foundation, will support the work.

The Vice President highlighted the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) 2.0 Project, urging state governments to fast-track implementation and stressing that nutrition outcomes depend on local and community-level engagement. He emphasized women’s central role in household nutrition and called for their full inclusion in programme planning and delivery.

NCN resolved that budget allocations must be timely, properly utilized, and tracked for measurable impact. Nine states including Abia, Adamawa, Borno, Cross River, Jigawa, Plateau, Rivers, Yobe, and Zamfara have inaugurated State Councils on Nutrition, with more states expected to follow.

The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, stressed the need for a sustainable funding structure to support the Federal Government’s nutrition initiatives.