Emmanuel Ochayi
Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettim, has ignited a drive to confront the country’s annual loss of $2.5 billion to chronic malnutrition which prevalence stands at 33 per cent.
Inaugurating the Nutrition Core Working Committee (NCWC) on Friday, Shettima spotlighted grim statistics: Only 88 out of 100 children under five years old survive in Nigeria, with a mere 36% chance for a child to reach the age of 60.
Join our WhatsApp Channel“This committee serves as the intellectual powerhouse to guide the National Council on Nutrition, providing the roadmap to alter our narrative,” asserted Shettima, emphasizing Nigeria’s untapped potential. “We have no reason to remain poor; we are among the world’s richest countries in potential.”
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Following the inauguration, Dr. Uju Okorocha, Special Adviser to the Vice President on Public Health, pledged the committee’s commitment to drive sustainable change in Nigeria’s nutritional landscape.
Okorocha highlighted plans for coordinated efforts across sectors and partnerships to combat malnutrition’s prevalence.
Zouwera Youssoufou, a committee member and Managing Director of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, echoed the commitment, affirming the committee’s goal to bolster the National Council on Nutrition.
“Our mandate is clear: to craft an actionable plan and secure the necessary funding to deliver tangible results,” declared Youssoufou, emphasizing the need for a unified approach to magnify impact.
She elaborated on the need to synchronize efforts, aiming to integrate various initiatives.
“Currently, disparate efforts exist in silos, spanning prevention, agriculture, and more. Our focus is to channel these endeavors into a cohesive direction for a collective, measurable impact,” she stressed.
The stage is set for the NCWC to spearhead a consolidated front against malnutrition, fostering a transformative journey to reshape Nigeria’s nutritional future.
