Vice President Kashim Shettima has raised alarm over the growing malnutrition crisis in Nigeria, revealing that more than 40 percent of children under the age of five are suffering from inadequate nutrition.
Shettima made this known on Monday while declaring open a Nutrition and Food Security Summit organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security in Abuja.
Represented by Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Shettima said the affected children are being denied their physical and cognitive development potential due to malnutrition.
“The occasion that brings us here today is no celebration. It is a reminder of the burden we bear. This malnutrition crisis continues to rob nearly 40 percent of Nigerian children under five of their physical and cognitive potential,” he said.
Shettima commended the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, for bringing the issue of nutrition and food security to the forefront of national discourse.
He also praised the committee for ensuring the establishment of similar committees across the 36 state Houses of Assembly.
He highlighted that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is tackling food insecurity through the “Nutrition 774 Initiative”, a grassroots-based programme designed to combat hunger and improve nutrition outcomes nationwide.
“Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, nutrition has been repositioned as a central pillar of our national development strategy. At the heart of this strategy lies the Nutrition 774 Initiative—our flagship grassroots framework. Designed not for elegance on paper but for impact,” he added.
Shettima stressed the importance of sustainable funding, urging lawmakers to ensure that budgetary allocations for nutrition are “consistent, adequate, and safeguarded”.
In his remarks, Chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Chike Okafor, said malnutrition-related health issues such as stunting, low birth weight, and anaemia have severe economic implications for the country.
Okafor also cited data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which estimates Nigeria’s annual post-harvest food losses at $2 billion—an amount higher than the combined nutrition budgets of the ministries of agriculture, health, education, and women’s affairs.
He noted that the committee is working with stakeholders across the country and organising capacity-building sessions to enhance legislative understanding of the food and nutrition crisis as part of efforts to address food insecurity.