The second day of the retreat by the House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, headed by Hon. Deacon Chike Okafor, PhD, took a panel discussion dimension.
The discussion which was moderated by Dr. Adeyinka Onabolu of Arete Blue Consulting and Dr. Dumebi Odita of Healthwatch Resources, focused on the role of Partners, like FAO, Nutrition International, World Bank, UNICEF, GAIN, Ministries, Agencies and Department, in Optimising Nutrition and Food Security in Nigeria.
In summary, the discussion by Food and Agriculture Organisation centred on the FAO’s country programme framework for 2023 till 2027, which has its priorities and while all the priorities are apt, the focus was on priority 3 which is all about Healthy and Nutritious diet.
On the part of UNICEF, they aver that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life offer a unique window of opportunity for preventing undernutrition and its consequences. It is estimated that malnutrition is a direct or underlying cause of 45 percent of all deaths of children younger than 5 years.
The World Bank Group’s support to Nigeria is structured around several priorities which aims to promote diversified growth and job creation, with a focus on youth, women, and the poor in marginalised areas, and social inclusion, through higher quality and efficiency in social service delivery at the State level.
Meanwhile, Nutrition International is concerned about optimising Nutrition and Food Security in Nigeria through technical assistance to the Federal, State and Local Government, where applicable.
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), on their own part, has been in the forefront of the food systems transformation agenda, in Nigeria, and continues to ensure that the systems deliver healthy diets and affordable nutrition.
The World Food Programme (WFP) were also part of this panel discussion, represented by Dr. Serigne Mbacke Loum.
