By NAN
Mr Sunday Okoronkwo, the Acting Executive Secretary of Civil Society for Scale up Nutrition (CS-SUNN) has called on Federal Government and other stakeholders to engage in effective collaboration to enhance easy access to nutritious and health diet in the country.
Okoronkwo made the call on Wednesday in Abuja, at an event to mark the 2021 Nigeria Nutrition Week celebration.
The celebration with the theme, “Food System Transformation for Healthy Diets and Nutrition: Our Collective Responsibility” was organised by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning in collaboration with Nutrition Society of Nigeria.
It was also supported by CS-SUNN, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Nutrition International, World Bank Group and other relevant stakeholders.
According to Okoronkwo, this year’s theme draws attention to the urgent need for strategies and approaches towards attaining food and nutrition security in Nigeria.
The CS-SUNN boss explained that insecurity affects access to availability and affordability of nutritious and adequate food supply, thus leading to malnutrition, as affected people are not receiving the correct nutrition for their needs.
“All stakeholders have a role to play for Nigerians to have access to nutritious and healthy diets, and this is only possible if we all work together.
“This brings me to the prime of today’s event; the official launch of the National Multi-Sectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (NMPFAN) a costed road map for reduction of stunting by 20 per cent and for increasing Exclusive Breastfeeding by 50 per cent among others if fully implemented.
“CS-SUNN congratulates the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for his great leadership in seeing this through and also taking proactive steps to mobilise funds for its implementation.
“We also commend the Honorable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed for starting the process and following through to,” Okoronkwo stressed.
He also called on Ministries, Departments and Agencies to allocate and promptly releases adequate funds for implementing the plan in their annual budgets.
Similarly, he also tasked Partners, private sector, INGOs and NGOs to key into the plan by supporting the government and aligning project objectives with the plan.
“CS-SUNN remains committed to the course for greater investments in combating malnutrition aswe all work together to attain a country where every citizen has food and is nutrition secured.
Speaking, Prof. Wasiu Afolabi, President Nutrition Society of Nigeria says, the Society has been collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning for a long time now.
” Over the years, we have been talking about access to nutrition and healthy diet, but now we have decided to walk the talk.
“The government has develop a robust plan and policy for nutrition for the people. We want to thank Osinbajo for his effort in addressing the issue of malnutrition in Nigeria,” Afolabi said.
High point of the event was the inauguration of the (NMPFAN) and paper presentation titled “Our Roles and Responsibilities toward ensuring Food System Transformation” by Dr Francis Aminu, the Director of Health and Nutrition, Aliko Dangote Foundation.
He advocated for collaboration among government, Development Partners, Private Sector, Research/Leaders of thought and Civil Societies to achieve a robust food system.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event attracted officials from Federal Ministries of Finance, Women Affairs, Agriculture, Water Resources, Information and Culture, Education and other relevant stakeholders. (NAN)