Stakeholders Strategize to Combat Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in Nigeria

During the SUN Business Network Annual Meeting in Lagos, stakeholders convened to address the pressing issue of food insecurity and malnutrition in Nigeria. The event, themed ‘Building a National Collaborative Mechanism for Nutrition in Nigeria: A Catalyst for Change,’ highlighted the urgency of the situation.

Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, emphasized the need for intentional and deliberate actions to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition, especially for the lower class. He mentioned initiatives like the scaling up nutrition network, which aims to produce nutritious food at affordable prices through measures such as smaller packet sizes and shorter value chains.

Michael Ojo, Country Director of GAIN, discussed various challenges affecting food production, including climate change and insecurity, leading to a hostile food crisis. He stressed the importance of diversifying food consumption beyond staples like rice to address these challenges.

In response to the high costs of food and economic hardship, the Federal Government announced measures to curb food importation and crackdown on traders hoarding grains. A committee, comprising key government officials, was set up to oversee these strategies, following resolutions from an emergency meeting attended by President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and state governors at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.