The Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has launched a strategic media engagement plan to strengthen domestic nutrition financing in Kaduna.

At the event on Thursday in Kaduna, CS-SUNN state chapter coordinator, Celestina Ayim, said adequate domestic financing was fundamental to improving nutrition outcomes and achieving sustainable development, noting that financing gaps continued to undermine interventions.

She said Nigeria remained among the countries with the highest malnutrition burden globally, citing the 2023-2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey.

According to Ms Ayim, the survey showed that 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five were stunted, eight per cent wasted and 22 per cent underweight.

She said poor nutrition outcomes affected child survival, educational attainment, workforce productivity and national economic growth, making stronger domestic financing imperative.

Ms Ayim said nutrition continued to receive disproportionately low public expenditure despite its importance to human capital development.

She stressed that stronger financing required political commitment, transparent implementation, expenditure tracking and accountability, beyond merely increasing budgetary allocations.

According to her, the media had a critical role in shaping public discourse, influencing policy priorities and holding duty-bearers accountable for nutrition investments.

She said nutrition reporting often concentrated on statistics while overlooking budget processes, financing decisions, appropriations, releases and policy actions.

Ms Ayim said the Partnership for Improving Nigeria Nutrition Systems (PINNS 3.0) initiative was equipping editors, broadcasters and digital influencers with knowledge, evidence and tools for evidence-based nutrition reporting.

She said the forum also marked the official launch of the Strategic Media Engagement Plan designed to strengthen media advocacy for domestic nutrition financing.

According to her, the plan would position the media as strategic advocacy partners in mobilising sustainable resources and ensuring timely releases for nutrition interventions.

She urged media practitioners to promote efficient utilisation of nutrition funds, particularly for women, children and other vulnerable populations.

Director, Development Aid Coordination, Kaduna Planning and Budget Commission, Priscilla Dariya,

represented by Jamilu Ladan, commended CS-SUNN for convening the forum.

Ms Dariya said sustainable nutrition outcomes required stronger domestic resource mobilisation and effective integration of nutrition priorities into state planning and budgeting processes.

She said the planning and budget commission would continue supporting efforts to reflect nutrition priorities in state plans, budgets and development frameworks.

Ms Dariya urged journalists to move beyond routine nutrition discussions and report rigorously on government investments, financing gaps and implementation challenges.

A media representative from Leadership Newspapers, Sola Ojo,  said the Kaduna Planning and Budget Commission had demonstrated commitment to championing nutrition issues, including expenditure tracking.

Mr Ojo said tracking mechanisms and task forces helped ensure that nutrition commodities reached intended beneficiaries and were not diverted.

He said the media appreciated the efforts of the state government and development partners toward improving domestic financing for nutrition interventions.

Mr Ojo said Kaduna was gradually reducing reliance on international and national donors through collaboration among government, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.

He said the state government was releasing substantial funds for nutrition interventions, adding that releases had become faster after approvals.

Director of Nutrition, Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, Ramatu Haruna, represented by Assistant Director of Nutrition, Muhammad Tukur, expressed optimism about the forum’s outcome.

Ms Haruna said stronger domestic financing would support nutrition services, including treatment of malnutrition, breastfeeding promotion and micronutrient supplementation across communities.

She called for improved nutrition data tracking, stronger accountability and greater coordination among government institutions, development partners and civil society organisations.

Ms Haruna urged participants to support sustained financing for nutrition programmes to ensure vulnerable women and children received timely and effective services.

Communications Manager with CS-SUNN, Olushola Peters, who officially launched and disseminated the media resources, said the package would strengthen evidence-based reporting on domestic nutrition financing.

Mr Peters said the resources included the Domestic Nutrition Financing Media Kit, Nutrition Financing Policy Brief and Budget Snapshot.

He added that the package also contained a digital media asset pack featuring infographics, social cards and motion graphics, alongside a Nutrition Financing Jingle.

According to the Nutrition Financing Policy Brief, scaling high-impact interventions to 75 per cent coverage by 2030 could save more than 248,000 under-five lives.

The policy brief said Kaduna could save about 98,900 under-five lives between 2026 and 2030 through increased investment and expanded nutrition interventions.

It projected that Kaduna would require about ₦599 billion in incremental investment between 2026 and 2030 to achieve the proposed scale-up.

The policy brief estimated that every ₦1 invested in nutrition in Kaduna could generate about ₦5 in returns through improved health and human capital outcomes.

According to the policy brief, Kaduna recorded 42.5 per cent budget performance from an aggregate nutrition budget of ₦14.4 billion between 2021 and 2025.

The policy brief identified delayed budget releases, inadequate financing, commodity shortages, human-resource gaps, insecurity and dependence on development partners as major challenges.

Mr Peters said the media should use the resources for news reports, editorials, features, investigative reports and broadcast programmes throughout the budget cycle.

He said journalists should sustain public discourse on domestic nutrition investment and highlight its links to child survival, education, productivity and economic growth.

Mr Peters encouraged media practitioners to participate in subsequent media appearances, advocacy visits and editorial engagements aimed at advancing nutrition financing in Kaduna.

Presenting on “Understanding Nigeria’s Domestic Nutrition Financing Landscape,” CS-SUNN Programme Officer, Mr Oludare Isaac, said political commitment and nutrition governance were improving.

He said they were supported by stronger State Committees on Food and Nutrition (SCFNs), multisectoral coordination and legislative engagement.
He, however, said financing was increasing, but delayed or inadequate budget releases remained a major barrier to effective implementation.

According to him, the high level of child malnutrition in Nigeria requires accelerated action through increased domestic financing, scale-up of multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS), stronger accountability, and sustained media and stakeholder engagement.

(NAN)