Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, says the Federal Government has always given the highest political will to nutrition programmes and interventions through the National Council on Nutrition in the country.
Osinbajo, who was represented by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said this on Thursday in Abuja, at the 17th ECOWAS Nutrition forum, themed, ‘Leveraging Sustainable Financing for Multi-sectoral Approaches: Accelerate Universal Access to Nutritious, Safe, Affordable and Sustainable Diets’.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the ECOWAS Nutrition Forum is a regional platform that brings together major stakeholders in nutrition to review policies, practices and progress in the reduction of malnutrition and diet-related diseases in the sub-region.
The event is meant to assemble and share relevant knowledge on access to nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable diets, including essential services in the Post COVID-19 era across the ECOWAS region, and speed up progress for nutrition impact.
Osibajo said that the huge expenditures made on nutrition require a strategic commitment to prioritise actions that can effectively reduce malnutrition in any country.
He said that the West African region is affected by multiple forms of malnutrition across various population groups.
The VP said that it was crucial to understand how these forms coexist, what drives them, and how they can be addressed through multi-sectoral efforts.
Osinbajo said that the objective of the 17th ECOWAS Nutrition Forum aligned with the West African Health Organisation’s nutrition agenda to strengthen multi-sectoral collaborations aimed at improving nutrition financing and Universal Health Coverage.
President, ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, said that public financing can improve food security.
He said that the 2022 Food and Agriculture Organisation report indicated that hunger has increased across the globe and that over 200 million people affected by hunger live in Africa.
He said food insecurity in the region has been exacerbated by insecurity, economic hardship and climate change.
The Chief Programme Officer, Helenium Keller International, Dr. Shawn Baker, said that food prices are on the rise and that every 5 per cent increase, equals 9 per cent waste.
Baker said that the impact would be more significant where there is already a high level of malnutrition.
He said that the region cannot allow the situation to worsen, noting that the persistence of malnutrition is a political choice.
He, however, said that the region has the technical means and political leadership to end malnutrition.
Meanwhile, Deputy-Rep, UNICEF Nigeria, Dr. Aboubacry Tall, said that UNICEF, on behalf of development partners, commits to ensuring that the nutritional rights and needs of children were met.
Tall said that they are ready to support governments in upholding the right to nutrition in the region.
He said that the burden of child-food poverty, nutrition insecurity and malnutrition in West Africa remains high.
“As we are convening today, we acknowledge that Nigeria has the highest number of malnourished children in Africa and consequently in the region.
“Changes in the nutrition status of children in Nigeria mean that we will change the narrative for the region and ultimately for the world.
“We know this can be done – exclusive breastfeeding rates have increased in Nigeria,” he said.
NAN reports that the ECOWAS Nutrition Forum is a regional platform that brings together key nutrition stakeholders biennially, to discuss nutrition policies and practices, progress in reducing malnutrition and diet-related diseases and innovative practices in the region.
About 250 nutrition experts from across the region are participating in the meeting.
The main objective of the meeting is to strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration to improve financing and Universal Health Coverage for nutrition.
(NAN)
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