Bukola Afeni
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s nutrition sector have concluded a three-day technical workshop in Abuja with a renewed commitment to strengthening the use of evidence and data in shaping nutrition policies, programmes, and investments across the country.
The workshop, held under the Micronutrient Analytics for Policy in Nigeria (MAP-) Project, brought together represeNigeriantatives of government ministries, development partners, research institutions, academia, and civil society organizations to review and validate key technical outputs aimed at improving nutrition decision-making in Nigeria.
Participants included officials from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW), Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), UNICEF, the World Bank, Nutrition International, GAIN, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Oxford Policy Management (OPM), GroundWork, and the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), among other stakeholders.
The MAP-Nigeria Project is a national initiative focused on the secondary analysis of data from the 2021 National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey (NFCMS), Nigeria’s most comprehensive assessment of food consumption and micronutrient status. The project aims to generate policy-relevant evidence that can support decision-making, programme improvement, and investment prioritization in the nutrition sector.
The Nutrition Society of Nigeria serves as the project grantee and implementing organization, while the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare provides strategic leadership as the lead government agency. The project is funded by the Gates Foundation, with GroundWork serving as the technical partner responsible for analytical support, capacity strengthening, and knowledge translation.
Speaking during the workshop, Professor Salisu Maiwada Abubakar, President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria and Project Director of MAP-Nigeria, described the initiative as a critical step toward ensuring that nutrition policies and interventions in Nigeria are guided by robust scientific evidence.
According to him, Nigeria possesses valuable nutrition datasets that must be transformed into actionable insights capable of informing effective policies and improving the health and well-being of millions of Nigerians.
“The goal of Project MAP-Nigeria is not merely to generate evidence but to ensure that evidence informs action,” Professor Abubakar said.
He noted that collaboration among government institutions, academia, development partners, and technical experts is essential for building sustainable systems that strengthen nutrition governance and support better outcomes for vulnerable populations.
A major focus of the workshop was the review and validation of key project outputs, including scientific manuscripts, policy briefs, infographics, training manuals, training modules, and analytical methodologies. Stakeholders reviewed and refined these materials to strengthen their technical quality, policy relevance, and alignment with national priorities and institutional mandates.
Providing an overview of project implementation, Dr. Anthony Oko-Isu, Project Manager of MAP-Nigeria, highlighted significant progress achieved since the project’s inception.
He disclosed that stakeholder engagement activities, data access processes, and comprehensive reviews of nutrition datasets had been successfully completed, while work on policy briefs, scientific publications, dissemination products, and institutional capacity-building plans had recorded substantial progress.
According to Dr. Oko-Isu, one of the project’s major achievements has been the successful acquisition, harmonization, and validation of datasets from the 2021 National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey.
He explained that the project had advanced the development of four policy briefs focusing on critical nutrition issues, including iodine status and salt iodization, calcium intake, double-fortified salt, and vitamin A status. In addition, a scientific manuscript examining the determinants of anaemia in Nigeria had progressed ahead of schedule.
“The emphasis of the project is to ensure that nutrition programmes and investments are guided by high-quality evidence,” he said.
“Our work is focused on generating practical recommendations that can support programme optimization, policy reform, and improved resource allocation.”
Dr. Oko-Isu further explained that findings from a capacity assessment conducted among relevant institutions informed the development of a comprehensive capacity-building plan, including training modules and a training manual designed to strengthen nutrition data analysis, interpretation, and utilization across government agencies and partner organizations.
Also speaking at the workshop, Dr. James Wirth of GroundWork presented emerging findings from the project’s analysis of iodine nutrition and salt iodization data.
He noted that preliminary analyses suggest that while salt iodization programmes have contributed significantly to improving iodine intake among Nigerians, some states may be recording iodine levels above recommended thresholds, highlighting the need for continued monitoring and evidence-based policy adjustments.
According to Dr. Wirth, the project is triangulating findings from the NFCMS with evidence from previous studies to strengthen the reliability of recommendations that will guide future nutrition interventions and regulatory actions.
He also emphasized the importance of considering multiple dietary sources of micronutrients when developing nutrition policies, noting that products such as bouillon cubes contribute significantly to iron intake among many Nigerians.
One of the highlights of the workshop was the presentation of findings from an extensive examination of primary biomarker data from the 2021 NFCMS. The presentation showcased the rigorous work undertaken to assess data quality, validate key indicators, and prepare the datasets for advanced secondary analyses.
Presenting the findings, Dr. Valeria Galleti of GroundWork explained that the project team conducted a comprehensive review of the NFCMS datasets and accompanying documentation following the formal transfer of data by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
She stated that the exercise included data inventory, documentation assessment, structural validation, and quality assurance processes aimed at ensuring that the datasets are suitable for robust secondary analyses and policy-oriented research.
According to her, the assessment confirmed that the datasets are analytically sound and capable of supporting high-quality research, evidence generation, and policy analysis.
The workshop also reviewed a proposed training manual, structured learning modules, and a standardized analytical methodology developed under the project. Participants provided technical inputs to strengthen the materials, which are expected to support future capacity-building efforts at both national and subnational levels.
At the end of the workshop, stakeholders agreed on key next steps, including the finalization of policy briefs, scientific manuscripts, infographics, training materials, and a roadmap for strengthening institutional capacity in nutrition data analysis and utilization.
Participants emphasized that the successful secondary analysis of the 2021 NFCMS presents a unique opportunity to generate actionable insights for addressing malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, anaemia, and other nutrition-related challenges affecting women and children across Nigeria.
They noted that the MAP-Nigeria Project is helping to bridge the gap between data generation and policy action by transforming complex nutrition datasets into practical recommendations capable of informing investments, programme design, and regulatory decisions.
With key technical outputs validated and a clear implementation roadmap agreed upon, stakeholders expressed confidence that the project will contribute significantly to strengthening Nigeria’s nutrition information ecosystem and improving evidence-based decision-making for better nutrition outcomes nationwide.
