By Salisu Sani-Idris
The National Council on Nutrition (NCN) adopted the National Policy on Food and Nutrition (NPFN), 2026 to 2035 at its 15th meeting held virtually on Tuesday in Abuja.
The adoption of the policy was part of decisions taken by the council at its meeting chaired by the Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
The council’s approval followed a painstaking process of ratification by critical stakeholders in Nigeria’s nutrition sector comprising public and private sector sponsors.
It directed the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to present the policy to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for ratification.
Shettima urged members of the council to be guided by the reality that behind every statistic discussed at the meeting.
According to him, the statistics is a Nigerian child whose life chances are being written by what” the government does or fails to do in the months ahead.
“We will be judged not by our deliberations but by our deliveries. Not by what we decided in April 2026, but by what mothers and children in the 774 local government areas experience by 2035,” he added.
Shettima described the NPFN 2026-2035 as “the most consequential nutrition policy this country has produced.
“It is multi-sectoral by design, evidence-based by discipline, and grassroots by orientation.
“It is not a Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning document. It is not a Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare document.
“It belongs to every Ministry, every State, every LGA, every ward, and every household represented in the work of this Council.”
He said that the council also directed every nutrition-relevant Ministry, Department, and Agency to align its sectoral policies, plans, and budgets with the provisions of the policy within 12 months.
According to him, the council further directs that all 36 states and the FCT operationalise State Multisectoral Plans of Action for Food and Nutrition within six to nine months.”
“The council also approved the extension of the timeline for the submission of a draft bill on National Nutrition by six weeks, directing that the draft must be submitted to the National Assembly within eight weeks.
The Vice-President commended the composition of the adhoc committee, noting that “this is the right room to draft this Bill.
“Council approves the requested extension. It also reaffirms that the Bill must be transmitted to the National Assembly within eight weeks from today,” he said.
The council also approved the inclusion of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the Commissioners of Finance Forum, and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the sub-committee.
Shettima commended the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare for the Sub-committee’s work.
According to him, the work highlighted the five financing streams identified. These include domestic, bilateral, multilateral, private sector, and innovative.
He said the Sub-committee, in its operational mode, would work in close coordination with the Nutrition 774 Strategic Board to eliminate any duplication of mandate but rather reinforce one another. (NAN)
