- The World Bank has supported Nigeria with $50 million to address food nutrition challenges
- Vice President Kashim Shettima says the project aligns with the federal government’s grassroots-driven approach to tackling nutrition crisis
- Both the federal government and the World Bank have adopted initiatives to address nutritional challenges in the country
The World Bank has approved $50 million to support Nigeria’s food nutrition challenges under the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) project 2.0 programme.
The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Ndiame Diop, said the ANRiN project 2.0 programme is within the Bank's crisis response window, which is focused on helping vulnerable communities overcome nutritional challenges.
Diop stated this on Tuesday, November 6, during a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Diop said, “It is important to see Nigeria’s government’s ongoing financing for nutrition, the bank has earmarked $50 million under ANRiN 2.0 programme which is a crisis response window.”
At the meeting, the Practice Manager for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank, Trina Haque, said there is a need for nutrition education for children and adolescents as it is crucial for early child development.
In his response, Shettima reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to addressing its growing nutrition challenges through a community-driven strategy that aims to transform nutrition outcomes across the country's 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
He noted the present administration's commitment to a grassroots-driven approach and solutions to the country's nutrition challenge while presenting the comprehensive N-774 initiative, which builds on the outcomes from the ANRiN project.
Shettima said, “The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is pioneering a paradigm shift in nutrition programmes through locally-owned solutions.
“The N-774 Initiative represents our commitment to community-driven development and sustainable nutrition outcomes.
“Malnutrition is a Nigerian problem that needs a Nigerian solution and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very much willing to support such an initiative.
“The project integrates nutrition goals across education, agriculture, health and social protection sectors.”
Strategies for implementation
The Vice President said the project will leverage the current political will to reverse the country’s negative nutrition indicators.
He noted that collaboration between the federal and subnational governments will be harnessed as one of the strategies to achieve the goals of the project.
Shettima said, “The ‘Renewed Hope’ administration is committed to swift, impactful results through this innovative approach to nutrition intervention.
“With sustained collaboration between the federal and sub-national governments and international partners, we are confident this initiative will yield significant improvements in our community health outcomes.”
FG and World Bank’s initiatives to address nutrition challenges
The federal government and the World Bank have adopted some initiatives to address Nigeria’s nutrition challenge.
The government recently unveiled the framework for its nutrition programme, Nutrition 774 Initiative, aimed at addressing malnutrition and food insecurity in the country.
At the unveiling, Shettima said the government’s aspiration for nutrition goes beyond the mere abundance of food in barns and warehouses to include access to essential diets that make for a healthy life.
The World Bank, for its part, has supported the country in addressing nutrition challenges. This includes the approval of three new financings totalling $1.57 billion to support key sectors in Nigeria.
It said the approved funds were targeted toward supporting the federal government in strengthening human capital through better health for women, children and adolescents.
The international lender has also urged the Nigerian government to increase its investment in nutrition programmes, highlighting the potential for substantial economic returns.
It noted that “every dollar spent on nutrition could yield up to $23 in returns, underscoring the critical importance of addressing malnutrition, particularly among vulnerable populations."
Food insecurity, malnutrition threaten Nigeria’s economic stability – Speaker Abass
Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has underscored the escalating crisis of malnutrition and food insecurity as critical threats to Nigeria’s economic stability, public health, and community resilience.
His comments were made during the inauguration of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the National Assembly’s summit on nutrition and food security in Abuja on Thursday, October 31.
