By Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
The Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), in collaboration with the Kaduna State Government, has organized a two-day capacity-building workshop for stakeholders on the use of the National Nutrition Budget Tracking System (NNBTS) under its PINNS 3.0 project.
The training brought together state budget officers and key nutrition stakeholders with the aim of strengthening transparency, accountability, and effective monitoring of nutrition financing in Kaduna State.
Speaking at the event, the Kaduna State Coordinator of CS-SUNN, Mrs. Ayim Ngare Celestina, said the workshop was designed to achieve three key objectives: building the capacity of state budget officers on NNBTS operations, deepening participants’ understanding of the system’s features and applications, and equipping stakeholders with the skills required to analyze nutrition budget data.
According to her, the initiative will enable government commitments to nutrition to be effectively monitored while ensuring financial resources are better aligned with nutrition priorities.
She explained that expected outcomes of the training include the creation of system administrator and coordinator accounts on the NNBTS platform, entry of Kaduna State’s first-quarter 2026 nutrition budget data, utilization of the platform as an advocacy tool for generating state-specific nutrition data, and the development of a state implementation and action plan.
Celestina noted that these measures would help ensure that funds allocated for nutrition programmes are effectively utilized to improve the wellbeing of children and women.
In his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Kaduna State Planning and Budget Commission and Chairman of the State Committee on Food and Nutrition, Mallam Mukhtar Abdullahi, described the workshop as timely, given the growing demand for transparency, accountability, and evidence-based decision-making in public resource management.
He stressed that nutrition remains a critical driver of human capital development and sustainable economic growth, emphasizing the importance of tracking and effectively utilizing resources earmarked for nutrition interventions.
Abdullahi said the National Nutrition Budget Tracking System provides a platform for monitoring nutrition investments, tracking budget releases, and generating data to support informed policy and planning decisions.
He added that institutionalizing the system would improve budget performance and ensure nutrition interventions reach their intended beneficiaries.
The permanent secretary also commended CS-SUNN and its partners for supporting Kaduna State’s efforts to strengthen nutrition governance and accountability through capacity-building programmes.
The workshop comes amid renewed concerns by CS-SUNN over Nigeria’s nutrition challenges.
Presenting an executive overview, CS-SUNN Programmes Officer, Mr. Ambrose Evhoesor, said Nigeria is facing a significant human capital crisis, noting that about 40 per cent of children under the age of five are stunted, while wasting rates stand at eight per cent.
He further revealed that more than 33 million Nigerians experience severe food and nutrition insecurity during peak dry seasons.
Evhoesor also highlighted trends in nutrition financing, noting that federal budget allocations for nutrition declined from ₦10.8 billion in 2021 to ₦6.5 billion in 2023 before rising to ₦18 billion in 2024 and ₦243 billion in 2025.
According to him, Kaduna State’s nutrition budget performance fluctuated over the years, dropping from 98 per cent in 2021 to 14.47 per cent in 2025.
To improve the impact of nutrition investments, CS-SUNN recommended the ring-fencing of nutrition budgets at both federal and state levels, publication of real-time expenditure data to enhance transparency, and stronger sub-national ownership through the operationalization of State Councils on Nutrition.
The organization also proposed a 2026 action roadmap that includes the establishment of a Nutrition Financing Subcommittee, development of a funding strategy, a policy review by the National Economic and Development Authority, and accelerated passage of the National Nutrition Bill to safeguard child nutrition funding.
