Benue state has taken a significant step towards addressing nutrition issues with a proposed budget of ₦835 million for 2025.
This development was revealed Monday during a budget tracking visit by the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) to the Ministry of Health and Human Services and the Economic and Budget Planning Commission.
Rachael Ityozughul, State Coordinator of CS-SUNN, expressed concerns that nutrition had never been budgeted for in line ministries.
However, she noted that CS-SUNN had carried out advocacy for scaling up the nutrition budget in the state.
Omaga Ode, Health Planning Officer, disclosed that the Ministry of Health had proposed a budget of ₦835 million for nutrition in 2025, which has been approved by the planning commission.
This amount represents a significant increase from the ₦100 million allocated for nutrition in 2024, which saw zero releases.
He also disclosed the Nutrition Budget Allocation in Benue State in 2023 was ₦13 million (0.2167% of the ministry’s allocation) and 2024 was ₦100 million (3.5% of the ministry’s allocation). He however noted that zero release of the approved money was made to the ministry in the two years.
Director of Budget Planning Asaa Terlumun assured CS-SUNN that his office would work to deliver the budget on nutrition as presented by the relevant ministries.
He also promised to provide budgetary records on nutrition within the shortest possible time.