The federal government has attributed nutrition deficiency across the country to inadequate funding and weak data systems as it restates its commitment to provide aid to children under the age of five, women of reproductive age, alongside vulnerable groups in the country.
This was disclosed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Emeka Obi, who stated this at the Nigeria Health See 2024 Nutrition Consultative Forum with the theme: “Addressing Coordination Bottlenecks in Nigeria for Improved Nutrition Outcomes.”
The government’s commitment followed earlier malnutrition data highlighted by the Community Engagement Coordinator of Nigeria Health See, Ms Adanna Opara.
According to Opara, malnutrition is still an issue of public health concern in Nigeria, which requires a multisectoral approach and effective multi-sectoral coordination.
According to her, “The 2025 National Nutrition Target seeks to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in the proportion of people who suffer from hunger and malnutrition, increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months to 65 per cent against the current 34 per cent, reduce the rate of stunting among under-five children to 18 per cent, reduce childhood wasting, including Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), to 10 per cent, reduce anaemia among pregnant women to 40 per cent, and reduce the prevalence of diet-related noncommunicable diseases by 25 per cent”.
Obi blamed the deficiency on insufficient alignment between institutional programmes, gaps in communication among ministries, and limited funding of nutrition programmes continue to impede progress despite numerous interventions launched by government agencies and international partners, fragmented policies and resource gaps.
According to him, the government is implementing food and nutrition-related interventions under Nigeria’s Medium-Term National Development Plan and Agenda 2050 and with the National Council on Nutrition (NCN) motion, barriers against adequate and affordable nutrition would be addressed.