Nigeria’s 36 Govs to Launch Nationwide Nutrition Emergency, Unleash Radical Funding Mechanism

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The governors of the 36 states of the federation, in a historic move over the weekend, declared war on hunger by committing to launch a nationwide nutrition emergency.

This massive mobilisation will establish a powerful National Nutrition Intervention Fund to instantly advance Nigeria’s ambitious Nutrition 774 Initiative across every single local government area in the country.

Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State announced this in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while reading the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Addis Ababa Commitment on Nutrition at the Nigeria Country Session.

The commitment followed a three-day Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange, where the Nigerian delegation led by Vice President Kashim Shettima studied Ethiopia’s experience in nutrition delivery, particularly through its Seqota Declaration.

In reading the NGF commitment at the session themed “From Lessons to Commitment: Accelerating Implementation of the Nutrition 774 Initiative,” the governors also pledged to strengthen domestic financing, deepen accountability at the grassroots, and institutionalise a unified framework for nutrition planning and budgeting, drawing lessons from Ethiopia’s experience in tackling malnutrition.

Governor Lawal, while speaking on behalf of the NGF, said the exchange had reinforced the importance of sustained political leadership, effective multisectoral coordination, ownership at all levels of government, predictable financing, and the systematic use of data to drive decisions and accountability.

He noted that Nigeria’s Nutrition 774 Initiative already embodied many of Ethiopia’s principles, adding that the exchange provided practical lessons to strengthen the programme and deliver measurable results.

According to him, the key lessons included the need for a unified approach to planning and budgeting, stronger coordination across sectors, bottom-up planning, predictable financing, and the use of data and scorecards to measure performance.

“We are encouraged that Nigeria’s N774 Initiative already embodies many of the principles we have seen here in Ethiopia. This leadership exchange has, however, provided important practical lessons on how these principles can be further strengthened and translated into results.”

The governors also identified matching financing between the federal government and states as an important mechanism for aligning priorities, encouraging subnational investment and reinforcing shared accountability for nutrition outcomes.

Lawal recalled that, in the presence of Vice President Shettima, the three tiers of government signed the Nutrition Compact on February 20, 2025, to establish a common commitment to tackling malnutrition.

According to him, the compact was signed by the Chairman of the NGF on behalf of the 36 states, the President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) on behalf of the 774 local governments, and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning on behalf of the federal government.

He explained that the latest commitment would reinforce the existing compact by adapting lessons from Ethiopia to Nigeria’s circumstances and translating them into concrete actions across the three tiers of government.

Under the commitments, the governors resolved to declare nutrition a national emergency, establish a National Nutrition Intervention Fund to catalyse implementation of the compact, and institutionalise “One Goal, One Plan and One Budget” for nutrition.

The proposed fund is expected to incentivise state-level leadership, encourage increased domestic investment, reward effective implementation and support measurable improvements in nutrition outcomes.

The governors also pledged to strengthen bottom-up planning by ensuring that nutrition priorities reflect needs at community and ward levels before being incorporated into local government, state and national plans.

They further committed to extending the National Nutrition Scorecard beyond the state level to include local government and ward-level performance indicators, strengthening accountability throughout the delivery chain.

The NGF also resolved to institutionalise the use of data for decision-making and performance management, including state-specific surveys and assessments to provide timely evidence for planning, resource allocation and corrective action.

Meanwhile, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Muyi Aina, said the federal government will begin targeted nutrition interventions in two states with a high burden of stunting before expanding the programme to other states.

Aina, speaking on behalf of federal agencies, said the Nigerian delegation had learnt important lessons from Ethiopia’s agricultural transformation, early childhood development programmes, and data-driven initiatives.

He said relevant ministers and federal agencies would work with governors and their teams to identify sectoral priorities, determine each tier of government’s responsibilities, and involve communities and development partners in the implementation process.

The NPHCDA chief also proposed three-, six-, and nine-month review meetings with the Vice President, who is also Chairman of the National Council on Nutrition, to assess progress, address implementation gaps and guide the expansion of the interventions to other states.

On his part, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, said the exchange had provided valuable lessons on translating political commitments into practical action and measurable nutrition outcomes.

Pate said the federal government would work with states to turn the commitments made during the exchange into practical interventions, with progress reported to the Vice President through the National Council on Nutrition.

On her part, Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr Mekdes Daba, commended Nigeria for its commitment to strengthening nutrition delivery and described the leadership exchange as a practical demonstration of African countries learning from one another.

Daba said the Nutrition 774 Initiative represented a significant national commitment, stressing the importance of starting with focused interventions, measuring results and expanding successful approaches.

The minister emphasised that commitments must ultimately translate into tangible improvements in citizens’ lives, adding that implementation, feedback and continuous assessment were essential to achieving lasting results.

According to her, Ethiopia is ready to provide technical support and work with Nigeria as it implements and expands the initiative.

She described the exchange as the beginning of a long-term partnership, expressing optimism that both countries would continue to share experiences and strengthen their efforts to tackle malnutrition.