RismadarVoice Reporters
June 17, 2026
The Nutrition 774 Initiative (N-774) Strategic Board has adopted a domestic financing model as the sustainable framework for funding nutrition interventions across Nigeria, as Vice President Kashim Shettima urged states yet to establish nutrition councils to do so without delay.
The decision was reached on Wednesday June 17, during the second High-Level Strategic Board meeting of the Nutrition 774 Initiative held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and chaired by the Vice President.
The Board also directed the Federal Ministry of Finance and other key stakeholders to intensify engagement aimed at activating existing funding mechanisms, including the Presidential Nutrition Intervention Fund (PNIF) and the ring-fenced Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) levy, to support nutrition programmes nationwide.
Speaking at the meeting, Shettima, who chairs both the N-774 Strategic Board and the National Council on Nutrition, stressed the need for stronger sub-national structures to drive nutrition outcomes across the country.
He called on the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) to ensure the inauguration of the remaining State Councils on Nutrition and the establishment of Local Government Committees on Food and Nutrition in the 304 local government areas yet to set them up.
The Vice President also urged stakeholders to accelerate consultations on the proposed National Nutrition Bill before its transmission to the National Assembly, describing legal backing as critical to achieving sustainable nutrition outcomes.
Highlighting the challenge of dwindling donor support globally, Shettima said Nigeria must urgently strengthen domestic funding mechanisms for nutrition interventions.
“The domestic financing architecture must be activated now, in this administration, within this governance cycle, and under the accountability of this Board,” he said.
He warned that delays in funding and implementation could have irreversible consequences for children, particularly during the first 1,000 days of life, a critical period for growth and development.
“The first 1,000 days of a child’s life do not wait for memos, circulars, or budget negotiations. While we deliberate, children across this country are within a window of growth that cannot be recovered once lost,” he stated.
The Vice President said ministries and agencies across sectors have defined responsibilities in addressing malnutrition, noting that nutrition extends beyond the health sector to agriculture, education, finance, water resources, women affairs, humanitarian services and social protection.
He also challenged lawmakers, development partners, civil society organisations and the private sector to play active roles in advancing nutrition goals.
According to him, the estimated ₦500 billion nutrition financing gap must be addressed through concrete actions rather than policy discussions alone.
“The ₦500 billion financing gap before us must move from a figure in a presentation to a funded programme on the ground. The National Nutrition Bill must move from draft to the National Assembly,” he said.
Shettima noted that President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda places human capital development at the centre of national development, with nutrition serving as a critical foundation.
“A malnourished child cannot become the engineer who builds our roads, the teacher who shapes our classrooms, the scientist who expands our frontiers, or the leader who carries our national burden,” he added.
The Board reaffirmed the Nutrition 774 Initiative as the primary governance platform for delivering nutrition interventions across all 774 local government areas of the country.
