HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DIRECTS MINISTRY OF HEALTH TO PROVIDE DETAILS INFORMATION ON NUTRITION INTERVENTIONS 19-01-25
By Sadiq Aminu The House of Representatives has directed the Ministry of Health to provide detailed information on all nutrition interventions implemented by the federal government and donor agencies to address malnutrition in the country.
The House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security gave the directive during a budget defence session with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Daju Kachollom.
Chairman of the Committee Dr. Chike Okafor, who demanded for a comprehensive rundown of all support received from development partners including funding, products, or services, noted that this would provide the committee concrete figures for the 2024 implementation and clearly defined projections for 2025.
Dr. Okafor, also emphasized the importance of understanding the plans and contributions of development partners for the current year.
He noted the reliance on development partners for certain essential nutrition products.
“Many of these partners, especially foreign-based ones, outline their annual programs at the beginning of the year. We must see their proposed contributions for 2025,”
Earlier in her presentation, the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Daju Kachollom explained that 11 states are participating in the World Bank-funded Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria project, following Akwa Ibom’s withdrawal.
She noted that the program focused on community-based approaches and behavioral change communication, which have led to significant reductions in stunting across various states over the past two years.