By Bukola Afeni
Stakeholders in the nutrition sector has called for strengthened domestic financing, institutionalized nutrition funding, and improved accountability for nutrition outcomes in Niger State.
While reaffirming that progress in mobilizing resources will mean little unless political commitment is sustained.
They made the disclosure at the high-level strategic roundtable on sustainable subnational nutrition financing held in Abuja, organized by the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN).
Speaking at the event, the Representative of the Nutrition Technical Team, Office of the Vice President, Adesanu Abimbola, urged Local Governments in Niger State to take full ownership of nutrition financing, insisting that the release of funds must translate into measurable reduction in child malnutrition.
She commended the seven Local Government Areas that have released up to seven million naira each for nutrition, describing their action as a model for others.
“The move by the LGAs is a powerful demonstration that domestic financing for nutrition is possible at the subnational level. You are showing an example to other local governments that this can be done. It is a declaration of ownership that we own our nutrition solutions, not just the problems, but the solutions,” she said.
She cautioned that the release of money should not become the final objective.
“We need to place emphasis on improving nutrition and have functional structures to drive nutrition initiatives. We should have critical pillars for sustainable nutrition financing at the LGA level.”
She highlighted that every LGA must have functional Local Government Committees on Food and Nutrition (LGCFN) that are active and effective.
“We need to have costed multisectoral plans, as funding without a plan is ineffective. Each LGA must have costed, multisectoral plans of action that clearly define how funds will be channeled. Beyond budgeting, LGAs must dedicate and progressively release nutrition budgets, with attention to timing and implementation. “
“There must be a robust mechanism to track spending and measure impact. At the end of the day, we should be able to state that the financing we have released has reduced the number of malnourished children in our state.”
The representative reaffirmed the commitment of the Office of the Vice President to supporting subnational efforts that promote accountability, transparency, and sustainable financing for nutrition, noting that true success lies in improved nutrition indices at the household level.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Local Government, Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, confirmed that ₦500 million has been released for nutrition interventions in Niger State, assuring stakeholders that the government remains committed to sustaining financing for child nutrition despite fiscal constraints.
He said the state had initially pledged ₦1 billion, and while the full release is being worked out, ₦500 million is already secured, with efforts ongoing to release the balance.
The Permanent Secretary disclosed that the objective of the current engagement is to secure self-oriented commitments of Forty Million Naira per Local Government to leverage the UNICEF Child Nutrition Fund (CNF).
He revealed that a draft budget for 2027 has already estimated Forty Million Naira per LGA for nutrition, a fund that will be matched by UNICEF to double impact.
“This is what the Executive Chairmen are looking forward to, so that they can go to their communities and say we have brought something tangible. We have brought health, we have brought peace,” he said.
He urged stakeholders to carry everyone along in deliberations and future engagements, and to be transparent with communities about both challenges and progress.
“We understand that these are the shortcomings we are having, but we also understand that there is a shortage of finance. So the little we can do, we must implement. And it is for our own children. Anyone of us believes that when we are able to do that, we must do that.”
The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Niger State Chapter, represented by Umaru Aminu, declared that Local Government Areas in the state are ready to demonstrate concrete financial commitment to tackling child malnutrition.
“LGAs have already shown interest in addressing malnutrition challenges and will continue to do more with support from the state ministry,” he said.
“We have already demonstrated interest where we have set aside funds to address some of the malnutrition challenges. So with the support of the ministry in our state, we will continue to do a lot,” he added.
The ALGON representative stressed that institutionalizing nutrition financing at LGA level is non-negotiable, urging his colleagues to make clear budgetary commitments regardless of size.
“At all levels, we will ensure that it is actually introduced. Even if we cannot do two million, we should have a commitment here that we can do no less than one million, which is twelve million. That means if we were not doing it before and we now say we will have one million every month to do something on child malnutrition, I think we are actually going or moving forward.”
He expressed the willingness of LGA Chairmen to learn and build capacity for effective implementation.
“We are desirous to learn, we will be attentive. We need all the experts who will take us through and we will demonstrate at least the abilities and capacity.”
