Nigeria is seeking to make child nutrition a lasting national priority, with Vice President Kashim Shettima announcing plans to accelerate a National Food and Nutrition Bill to protect funding and strengthen accountability beyond successive administrations.
Speaking at the Nigeria–Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange Forum in Addis Ababa on 7 October 2026, Shettima said the proposed legislation would reinforce the government’s Nutrition 774 Initiative, placing all 774 Local Government Areas at the centre of planning and service delivery. The ambition is to turn national commitments into coordinated action for vulnerable mothers and children.
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The urgency is clear. Government figures cited at the forum put Nigeria’s stunting rate among children under five at approximately 40 per cent. Stunting, caused by chronic undernutrition and other adverse conditions during early childhood, can undermine physical growth, learning and long-term productivity. Nigeria’s challenge is therefore not only a public health concern; it is a human capital issue with consequences for the country’s future workforce and economic development.
The World Bank reported in February 2026 that deficits in health, education and skills development could cost children born today in low- and middle-income countries 51 per cent of their potential future labour earnings. Evidence from northern Nigeria also showed that combining cash transfers, asset transfers and health counselling for mothers reduced stunting by six percentage points, with benefits persisting two years after the intervention ended.
Nigeria’s proposed approach places greater emphasis on community-level delivery, drawing lessons from Ethiopia’s experience with nutrition education, local mobilisation and coordinated public services. Such models recognise that information alone is insufficient: families also need access to nutritious food, healthcare, clean water and sanitation.
Financing is another central pillar. According to the Federal Government, Nigeria’s US$26 million commitment to the Child Nutrition Fund attracted matching support, bringing the total to US$52 million. Twenty-one states have also contributed US$6.3 million since 2023 towards supplies to prevent and treat malnutrition. A proposed Presidential Nutrition Investment Fund is expected to support further investment, while the government works to mobilise additional domestic resources.
Institutional structures are also expanding. Nutrition committees have been established in 32 State Houses of Assembly and more than 450 local government areas. Under the Nutrition 774 Initiative, federal, state and local authorities are expected to coordinate implementation, with local government chairpersons playing a central role in planning, delivery and accountability.
The National Policy on Food and Nutrition 2026–2035 sets targets to reduce stunting to 32 per cent by 2029, 28 per cent by 2032 and 25 per cent by 2035. Achieving the final target will require sustained investment, reliable data and transparent reporting that shows whether improvements are reaching children across different states and income groups.
However, legislation and funding will not automatically translate into better nutrition. Local governments have unequal staffing, budgets and infrastructure. Health facilities must have trained personnel and essential nutrition supplies, while interventions must be linked to agriculture, education, social protection, water and sanitation. Without these connections, communities may receive advice on healthy diets without having the means to act on it.
Nigeria’s proposed bill offers an opportunity to make nutrition financing more predictable and public institutions more accountable for results. Its success will ultimately depend on whether commitments translate into early interventions, better access to nutritious food and measurable reductions in child stunting.
For Nigeria, the test is not how many plans are announced, but how many children are given a healthier start in life. For Africa, the wider lesson is that national ambition must be matched by sustained financing, effective local delivery and evidence that progress is reaching the families who need it most.
