The federal government and state governments have pledged to strengthen grassroots collaboration to translate nutrition policies into measurable improvements in communities and households, with particular focus on tackling malnutrition.

The initiative seeks to improve nutrition delivery through coordinated interventions across health, education, agriculture, water, sanitation, and social protection sectors.

Speaking ‌on the sidelines of the Nigeria–Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange in Addis Ababa on Friday, governors and ministers said Ethiopia’s experience offered valuable lessons for Nigeria’s efforts to address malnutrition.

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun said interventions must prioritise children under five and pregnant women, noting that although Nigeria had recorded progress, more improvements were needed.

“We have some success, but we can improve on it. That is why I am here, to learn from our counterparts in Ethiopia,” Mr Adeleke said.

Governor Alex Otti of Abia said Nigeria should learn from countries that had made progress in tackling malnutrition rather than attempt to develop solutions from scratch.

Mr Otti emphasised that nutrition extended beyond food security, requiring coordinated interventions in healthcare, education, agriculture, climate action, and poverty reduction to achieve sustainable improvements.

“Today, we have learned that it’s not just about food security. It’s also about health. It’s about education. It’s about climate change. It’s about agriculture. So, a whole lot of things are intertwined,” he said.

Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara said insecurity had worsened nutrition challenges in a state traditionally known for substantial food production, making it harder to feed vulnerable households.

“In the past, when you spoke about nutrition, we didn’t even have anything like that in the state because we produced enough to feed our people. However, because of those challenges now, it has become difficult,” he said.

Mr Lawal, however, said insecurity should not define the state, emphasising the need to align with federal government programmes while tailoring interventions to local circumstances.

Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa said Ethiopia’s experience under the Seqota Declaration offered lessons for Nigeria’s Nutrition 774 Initiative, particularly in extending interventions to households.

“The one thing that is very important with 774 is the fact that it will have to go down from the national level to each local government, each ward, each community and each household,” he said.

Mr Namadi said Jigawa had complemented federal interventions with local initiatives, including the Masaki programme and a “Tom Brown” nutrition programme that had trained about 600 women to produce nutritious food for children.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said nutrition was central to human capital development and required coordinated action across government institutions and society.

“Nutrition is key to human capital development, and it requires sectors to work together in a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach,” he said.

Mr Pate said Nigeria had made progress through coordinated national interventions and community-based programmes but needed to deepen and accelerate implementation.

He said Nigeria and Ethiopia would develop a roadmap based on lessons from the leadership exchange, expressing optimism that sustained implementation could deliver significant results.

“There are reasons to be optimistic that if we continue in this direction over the next four to five years, Nigeria will achieve remarkable success in dealing with key issues affecting the people of Nigeria, particularly the children who are the future of our country,” he said.

Minister of Education Maruf Alausa said nutrition interventions should begin during pregnancy and continue through the critical early stages of childhood development.

“If we miss that period, the 2,000 days, we’ve set those children up for failure in life,” he said.

Mr Alausa said the Nutrition 774 agenda was designed to extend interventions from the federal government through state and local governments to communities across the country.

“We have an expansive 774 nutrition agenda that drives our nutrition agenda from the federal to the subnational government, state, local government and the community,” he said.

Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, linked improved nutrition to water security, agricultural production, sanitation and healthy living, emphasising the importance of addressing these interconnected needs.
“When we talk about the workforce, we must first talk about healthy living. A human being must be healthy before he can impact positively in any role given to him,” he said.

Mr Utsev said reliable water supply was essential for drinking, sanitation and irrigation, adding that improved access could support food production and strengthen efforts to achieve better nutrition outcomes nationwide.

(NAN)