Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has inaugurated the State Council on Nutrition with a firm commitment to integrate nutrition-focused planning into the State’s development agenda.
The State Strategic Board on Nutrition would serve as an oversight organ for implementing the Federal Government’s Nutrition 774 (N-774) initiative in Abia, designed to drive improvements in nutrition outcomes across Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and improve food security, health, and nutrition.
The Council is to be chaired by the Governor with membership from various Ministries.
Governor Otti while inaugurating the Council at Nvosi in Isialangwa South LGA, after an overview of the Nutrition 774 (N774) initiative from a delegation of the National Technical Working Group, led by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health and Focal Person on Nutrition, Dr. (Mrs.) Uju Anwukah, described nutrition as the foundation of public health, productivity and long-term economic growth,
He noted that their advocacy visit to the State has served as a timely call for Abia to adopt a deliberate tracking and reporting of nutrition indicators across all sectors.
“Clearly, when you talk about nutrition, the initiative is very good and we welcome it.
“Here, we may not have targeted an initiative like Nutrition 774, but the essence of government, if you follow closely, would dovetail into this initiative. What is it about? Security and welfare of the people”, Governor Otti said.
He disclosed that Abia State under his administration has committed 15 percent of its annual budget to healthcare and 20 percent to education in the last two years, totalling 35 percent of the entire budget to critical human capital development sectors.
The Governor noted that although the government had not been deliberate in monitoring nutrition data, the Nutrition 774 Initiative has prompted a shift in approach.
“Now that you have come here, if there’s nothing that you have succeeded in doing, it’s to now get us to be deliberate in monitoring our numbers”.
He directed the Commissioner for Budget and Planning to ensure that nutrition-related programmes are clearly tagged and captured in future budgets, starting with the 2025 fiscal year.
“Our 2025 budget is green, that means it is climate-compliant and nutrition-compliant. You will see very significant improvement. We tagged it and we derived ₦3.4 billion from the average ₦1.3 billion that it used to be. So we are scaling it up as we progress”, Governor Otti stated.
He urged members of the newly inaugurated Nutrition Council to ensure effective coordination and performance tracking, noting, “What you are doing is a direct intervention and you are monitoring the outcomes, and that is critical”.
Earlier while presenting an overview, the SSA to the President on Nutrition and the Focal Person for the Nutrition 774 initiative, Dr Uju Anwukah
described malnutrition as a global menace, adding that “it contributes to about 45% of child deaths and drives intergenerational poverty”.
Dr Anwukah explained that Nigeria ranks second globally in malnutrition-related burden, with an annual economic loss of about $1.5 billion and emphasised that the N774 programme is a government-led, community-driven initiative designed to deliver coordinated and sustainable nutrition interventions at all levels.
“This visit is not just a nutrition engagement; it is a mission of purpose under the renewed health agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu”, she noted.
Dr Anwukah who lauded the Otti-led administration for its reforms in health, education and infrastructure, also applauded Abia’s increasing budgetary allocation for nutrition from ₦231 million in 2022 to ₦1.35 billion in 2024, described Abia a “model of emerging best practices and called on the State Government to strengthen its commitment to the fight against malnutrition.
