State governors have committed to declaring a nutrition emergency and establishing a National Nutrition Intervention Fund to strengthen the fight against malnutrition across the country.
The commitment, announced by Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal on Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is aimed at accelerating the implementation of the Nutrition 774 Initiative across all 774 local government areas.
Lawal announced the decision while presenting the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Addis Ababa Commitment on Nutrition at a Nigeria country session following a three-day Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange led by Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
The exchange focused on Ethiopia’s experience in tackling malnutrition, particularly through its Seqota Declaration.
Under the new commitment, the governors pledged to strengthen domestic funding for nutrition programmes, improve grassroots accountability and adopt a unified framework for nutrition planning and budgeting.
They also resolved to institutionalise the principle of “One Goal, One Plan and One Budget” to ensure better coordination among the three tiers of government.
Speaking on behalf of the NGF, Lawal said the exchange had reinforced the importance of sustained political leadership, multisectoral coordination, predictable funding and the use of reliable data to improve nutrition outcomes.
He said Nigeria’s Nutrition 774 Initiative already incorporated several principles demonstrated by Ethiopia, but added that the lessons from the exchange would help strengthen implementation and deliver measurable results.
The proposed National Nutrition Intervention Fund is expected to encourage state governments to increase domestic investment, reward effective implementation and support measurable improvements in nutrition outcomes.
The governors also pledged to ensure that nutrition priorities identified at community and ward levels inform local government, state and national plans.
In addition, they committed to expanding the National Nutrition Scorecard beyond the state level to include local government and ward-level performance indicators.
Lawal recalled that the federal, state and local governments signed a Nutrition Compact on February 20, 2025, to establish a common framework for tackling malnutrition.
The compact was signed by the NGF chairman on behalf of the 36 states, the president of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) on behalf of the 774 local governments, and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning on behalf of the Federal Government.
He said the latest commitment would build on the existing agreement by adapting lessons from Ethiopia to Nigeria’s circumstances and translating them into practical action.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has announced plans to begin targeted nutrition interventions in two states with high levels of childhood stunting before expanding the programme to other parts of the country.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Muyi Aina, disclosed this while speaking on behalf of federal agencies at the session.
Aina said the government would select the two states based on their stunting burden and develop multisectoral interventions tailored to their specific needs.
He explained that federal ministers and relevant agencies would work with state governors, their teams, communities and development partners to identify priorities, allocate responsibilities and establish a joint financing arrangement.
He added that the programme would have measurable targets and a rigorous monitoring framework to assess implementation and outcomes.
“We will track very rigorously progress in the execution of the plan,” Aina said.
He proposed reviews at three, six and nine months, involving the Vice-President, who chairs the National Council on Nutrition, to assess progress, address implementation challenges and determine how the interventions could be extended to other states.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, said the exchange had provided valuable lessons on translating political commitments into practical interventions and measurable results.
Pate identified focused sectoral action, clear implementation plans, performance indicators and accountability as essential to accelerating Nigeria’s response to malnutrition.
He said the Federal Government would work with state governments to implement the commitments, with progress reported to the Vice-President through the National Council on Nutrition.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr Mekdes Daba, commended Nigeria for its efforts to strengthen nutrition delivery, describing the exchange as an example of African countries learning from one another.
Daba stressed that political commitments must translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives, adding that implementation, feedback and continuous assessment were crucial to achieving sustainable results.
She said Ethiopia was ready to provide technical support to Nigeria as it implements and expands the Nutrition 774 Initiative.
The minister also expressed optimism that the exchange would lead to long-term cooperation between both countries in addressing malnutrition and improving nutrition outcomes.
