Vice President Kashim Shettima has raised alarm over the scale of malnutrition in Nigeria, warning that the condition is depriving nearly 40 per cent of children under the age of five of their full physical and cognitive potential.
Speaking at the National Summit on Nutrition and Food Security held in Abuja, Shettima, who was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, described the situation as a national crisis that must be tackled urgently and collectively.
“It is a reminder of the burden that we bear — a malnutrition crisis that continues to rob nearly 40% of Nigerian children under five of their physical and cognitive potential.
“It is a reminder that food insecurity is not only about hunger. It is also about whether our people can afford, access, and accept the food that meets their nutritional needs.
“It is about the economy. It is about education. It is about the very building blocks of human capital that this nation so urgently needs,” he said.
The vice president announced that the federal government had launched the Nutrition 774 Initiative, a grassroots-focused programme aimed at addressing malnutrition in the country’s most neglected communities.
According to him, the initiative has been approved by the National Council on Nutrition, which he chairs.
He stated that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had repositioned nutrition as a core pillar of Nigeria’s national development agenda under the Renewed Hope strategy.