The Federal government says Nigeria loses about $56 billion annually to malnutrition.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, disclosed this at the end of a recent high-level dialogue in Abuja on the cost of inaction on malnutrition in Nigeria and N4G commitment-making.
The minister, who was represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Vitalis Obi, said malnutrition has the enormous economic cost of malnutrition, estimated at USD 56 billion annually, equivalent to 12.2% of Nigeria’s Gross National Income (GNI).
The Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (FMBEP) organized the meeting in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada and Nutrition International. Representatives from various stakeholders, including the office of the Vice President, relevant Ministries, and international organizations, attended.
Stakeholders in nutrition who gathered at the event reaffirmed their commitments to advance nutrition in Nigeria in line with the federal government’s N774 Initiative.
The stakeholders identified challenges such as inadequate funding, weak food systems, and climate change as major factors that promote malnutrition in Nigeria.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the dialogue, the stakeholders highlighted a myriad of challenges in addressing malnutrition and improving nutrition outcomes in the country. These include inadequate funding and budget implementation, weak food systems and poor diet diversity, climate change, social, cultural and behavioral patterns, data gaps and monitoring challenges, in addition to food insecurity.
The Stakeholders resolved to align across all sectors to ensure that food security and malnutrition policies, strategies, guidelines and tools synergistically address malnutrition in all its forms by 2026.
The meeting agreed to establish and operationalize nutrition departments with dedicated budget lines across 12 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by 2028 to improve the management and coordination of nutrition actions at both national and subnational levels.
The Stakeholders resolved to establish and operationalize a transformative nutrition investment fund to catalyze nationwide implementation of nutrition actions towards universal health coverage for all Nigerians by 2028.
The stakeholders decided to prioritize the implementation of the minimum package of nutrition services at the Primary Health Care (PHC) level as a component of the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAP), driving tangible improvements in health and well-being.
They also resolved to expand access to social safety-net programs and water and sanitation (WASH) programs to empower vulnerable individuals and families, enable them to afford nutritionally diverse diets and end open defecation among all Nigerians.
The Hon. Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, decried the enormous economic cost of malnutrition on the Nigerian economy, which is estimated at USD 56 billion annually, equivalent to about 12.2% of the country’s Gross National Income (GNI).
The Minister was ably represented at the meeting by the Permanent Secretary of FMBEP, Dr. Emeka Vitalis Obi mni.
The meeting held discussions on the upcoming Nutrition for Growth conference scheduled for March 2025 in Paris, France.
The meeting’s stakeholders included the office of the Vice President, relevant Ministries, representatives of the National Assembly, States, Nutrition International, Global Affairs Canada, UNICEF, GAIN, CS-SUNN, and GIZ.
The meeting served as a platform for Nigeria to articulate a common position ahead of the global nutrition summit in France later in March.
