25 Niger State Council Chairmen Commit to Implementation of UNICEF-Assisted Child Nutrition Programme

25 Niger State Council Chairmen Commit to Implementation of UNICEF-Assisted Child Nutrition Programme Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Executive chairmen of the 25 local government areas of Niger State have unanimously committed to sustainable financing for child nutrition, including prompt payment of counterpart funding to unlock the UNICEF Child Nutrition Fund (CNF). The commitment was contained in a communique adopted at the end of a two-day capacity-building retreat on Sustainable Nutrition Financing held in Abuja. The retreat was organised by the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) in partnership with the Niger State Government under Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago. It was aimed at building sustained political commitment, enhancing institutional capacity and establishing predictable financing mechanisms at local government level to combat maternal and child malnutrition. Participants noted that N500 million is already available in the state nutrition account, but stressed that budgetary allocation alone is insufficient. Continuous advocacy is needed to ensure funds are fully released and effectively utilised. They also noted that malnutrition often competes with other pressing priorities, including security, and that chairmen must provide deliberate political leadership, championing nutrition as a core economic and development strategy. The retreat further observed that LGAs currently run nutrition activities on ad hoc basis due to absence of dedicated budget lines, and that complex nutrition data must be translated into accessible evidence for political leaders, alongside community sensitization on local nutritious foods like Tom Brown. To safeguard resources, participants recommended that State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN) monitoring frameworks be mirrored at LGA level, Aid Diversion Committees be established, and UNICEF CNF allocation letters be transparently shared across key institutions. In the resolutions, the chairmen agreed to incorporate dedicated line items for ‘Nutrition Interventions’ backed by Annual Operational Plans (AOPs) in the 25 LGA Annual Budget Estimates beginning with the 2027 Budget Cycle. They also resolved to transition from mere approvals to predictable, quarterly cash releases, ensuring immediate follow-up on existing counterpart matching schemes like the UNICEF CNF and the state’s N500 million commitment. Other resolutions include formally inaugurating, operationalising and resourcing Local Government Committees on Food and Nutrition (LGCFNs) across all 25 LGAs by Q1 2027 under direct leadership of chairmen; conducting mandatory capacity-building for Nutrition Desk Officers and Focal Persons; collaborating with SCFN, CS-SUNN and community structures to establish tracking mechanisms against commodity diversion; and promoting local food production models and grassroots sensitisation to drive demand for Maternal, Infant and Young Child Feeding (MIYCF) services. Dr. Bimbola Adesanmi, who represented the Vice President at the retreat, said the meeting objective was to get LGAs to go beyond a step and sustain financing commitment. “The child nutrition fund, which you already started, so must go beyond a step beyond that now and begin to sustain our financing commitment,” she said. Participants agreed the value of CNF extends beyond matching funds, providing opportunity to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation, institutionalise nutrition financing and improve accountability for nutrition outcomes.