Bagudu Reaffirms FG’s Determination to Curb Malnutrition

•Says revamped national social protection policy ready by year-end

James Emejo in Abuja

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, yesterday reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to addressing malnutrition, and achieving a healthy society for children to ensure that they achieve enviable heights through good nutrition.

The minister disclosed this when he received members of the United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF) led by the Regional Director for West and Central Africa of UNICEF, Mr. Gilles Fagninou in Abuja.

The minister expressed gratitude for the technical support of UNICEF in ensuring the update of the situation analysis of children in Nigeria, as well as the domestication of the National Monitoring and Evaluation Policy at the state level in addition to strengthening multi-sectoral collaboration for nutrition through the launch of the “Nutrition 774 initiative”.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Emeka Vitalis Obi, Bagudu noted that through these initiatives, the country is strategically moving down to the grassroots to ensure that children and all persons who are victims or exposed to malnutrition or undernutrition are considered and taken care of.

He further disclosed that domestic financing had been launched through the Child Nutrition Fund to ensure that funds were available to address the needs of children domestically within the country.

He highlighted the National Social Protection Policy as another great initiative by the government aimed at strengthening capacity in public financial management, especially at the sub-national level. This initiative, he said, would be launched before the end of 2025.

In a statement issued by the ministry’s Director Information, Mrs. Julie Osagie-Jacobs, the minister said, “We can do better, we have the vision to be able to leverage on successes we have recorded so far and strengthen them because we are building capacity that should outlive us and project the future of the Nigerian Child”.

“Our role is key, it’s critical and vital. We will continue to work on the policy ecosystem and space in order to save policies that would continue to see to the inclusion of children at the heart of the economy”.

Speaking earlier, Gilles commended the ministry’s leadership in driving the social inclusion agenda and advised on how things could be done better, especially, with the very ambitious programmes in Nigeria.

According to him, the social inclusion agenda plays a key role in budget allocation especially when it comes to children, he further re-affirmed their support for the ministry.

Gilles said the advantage of UNICEF’s exposure to the 24 countries of its operations was to enable the organisation to gather experiences and see how lessons learnt from Nigeria and elsewhere could help UNICEF make progress in the 24 countries within their purview.

He commended the federal government for being the first country under their watch to successfully conduct a progress report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He, however, stressed the need for the ministry to continuously review the progress made by line ministries as touching their mandates while engaging UNICEF for support in promoting children’s needs.

Also, Director of International Cooperation in the Ministry, Dr. Samson Ebimaro, pointed out that the intervention of UNICEF in Nigeria had been impressive; and that Nigeria was very much aware of their contributions to the nation’s economy, especially in areas of education, nutrition, water and sanitation and child’s rights.

Ebimaro said,“Nigeria is a very strategic partner to UNICEF and UNICEF has been a very amiable partner that has worked with the Ministry for over 15 – 20 years.”