Children : Malnutrition Silently Crippling Nigeria’s Future – Shettima

Vice-President, Senator Kashim Shettima, says malnutrition is silently crippling the nation’s future, robbing 40% of children under the age of five of their full physical and mental potential.

Senator Shettima made the remark
at a national nutrition summit in Abuja, organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition
and Food security as part of the House’s Open week activities.

Represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, the Vice President said the government has launched a major grassroots campaign, “The Nutrition 774 Initiative” to tackle the growing crisis.

“Malnutrition is not just a health issue; it is a national injustice, We must act with urgency, unity, and resolve.”

According to him, the initiative aims to strengthen nutrition services in all of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas forming part of President Bola Tinubu’s broader Renewed Hope Agenda and endorsed by the National Council on Nutrition, which the Vice-President chairs.

Senator Shettima said the programme will focus on strengthening accountability, mobilising local political will, and driving a unified approach to tackling food insecurity and child malnutrition.

He commended the role of global partners such as UNICEF, the World Bank, and Médecins Sans Frontières, but said the country must move away from scattered donor-led projects to a single, coordinated national framework.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Abbas Tajudeen, noted that malnutrition is costing Nigeria an estimated $56bn annually, equivalent to 12.2% of the country’s Gross National Income.

He also pointed to post-harvest food losses, worth about $2bn annually as a major source of wastage and inefficiency in the nation’s food system.

“This situation is not sustainable, “We are losing food. We are losing children. And we are losing economic productivity.”

He said the House Committee on Nutrition is working closely with state governments to move beyond policies and enact practical on-the-ground measures, including improved budgeting and oversight.

Chairman of the Committee, Mr Chike Okafor, said Nigeria’s nutrition crisis must be met with systemic change, citing poor coordination, weak oversight, and fragmented efforts as barriers to lasting progress.

“Every year, we budget. Every year, we talk. But the numbers remain the same or worse,” Mr Okafor said.

“It is time to strengthen oversight, improve coordination, and institutionalise knowledge across the board.”

He said the Committee was exploring long-term collaborations with institutions like the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, as well as partners like Nutrition International and GAIN, to deepen understanding and monitoring of nutrition programmes.

Mr Okafor also noted that the recent passage of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 harmonised framework could help channel more resources into nutrition financing.

He called for public awareness campaigns on the law’s benefits, especially in the food and health sectors.

He thereby stressed the need for development partners to operate within a transparent framework and for government at all levels to prioritise nutrition as a pillar for national development.

“Nutrition is the starting point,” he said.

“Without it, every other investment — in education, in security, in growth is compromised.”

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji