By Olukayode Babalola
Nigeria’s fight against malnutrition took a bold step forward as the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with key stakeholders, kicked off a five-day strategic meeting aimed at shaping the future of nutrition advocacy in the country.
Held in Keffi, Nasarawa State, the summit has drawn 40 of the nation’s top nutrition experts, policy makers, and civil society advocates.
The event, organized by the Ministry’s Nutrition Department in partnership with Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), focuses on crafting a comprehensive national advocacy strategy to tackle the country’s mounting nutrition crisis.
The meeting, which runs from August 20 to 24, seeks to strengthen evidence-based nutrition advocacy, integrate key interventions like Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS), and unify efforts towards addressing Nigeria’s triple burden of malnutrition—undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies.
Opening the summit, Mrs. Ladidi Bako-Aiyebusi, Director of Nutrition at the Federal Ministry of Health, emphasized the urgency of addressing Nigeria’s nutrition challenges.
“Nigeria is facing a severe crisis, with millions of children, particularly in the Northeast and Northwest regions, suffering from malnutrition,” she said.
According to the 2021 National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey, nearly 4.4 million children in these regions are acutely malnourished.
Bako-Aiyebusi highlighted key drivers of malnutrition, including inadequate access to food, poor feeding practices, and weak health-seeking behaviors, compounded by the country’s socio-economic challenges.
“Advocacy, when driven by evidence, has proven globally to be a powerful tool in promoting and addressing critical health issues, including nutrition.
The ministry in collaboration with stakeholders are on the driver’s seat and have commenced the process of developing the strategic document that will give the direction on effective ways to drive advocacy for nutrition in Nigeria,” she added.
The summit aims to produce a groundbreaking National Advocacy Strategy that will provide a roadmap for improving nutrition advocacy and implementation across all levels of governance.
The strategy will focus on collaboration, capacity strengthening, and evidence-based interventions to address the nutrition challenges faced by millions of Nigerians.
CS-SUNN Program Officer, Mr. Kunle Ishola, lauded the Ministry’s leadership in convening the meeting, noting that “effective advocacy requires clear pathways, which is why CS-SUNN is providing technical and financial support to this effort.
“We want to see a unified approach to nutrition advocacy in Nigeria, one that ensures measurable results.”
Participants from across the country, including representatives from academia, civil society organizations, and state governments, are optimistic that the strategy document will not only guide future advocacy efforts but will also enhance funding and service delivery for nutrition programs.
As the summit unfolds, stakeholders are committed to ensuring that the strategy captures the full spectrum of Nigeria’s nutrition challenges—from undernutrition in rural areas to rising cases of overnutrition in urban centers.
“Malnutrition is a major issue in Nigeria, and we need a clear, strategic document to guide all actors in the nutrition advocacy space,” said Prof. Salisu Abubakar, Vice Chairman of the National Nutrition Technical Working Group.