N774 Initiative: Stakeholders move to take nutrition interventions to households

By Ochiaka Ugwu

Stakeholders on nutrition under the platform of Nutrition 774 Initiative may have concluded plans to take nutrition interventions to communities to ensure every child, mother, and community has access to the nutrition they need to survive and thrive.

Speaking at the event of National Rollout Workshop of the Nutrition 774 Initiative held in Abuja Tuesday, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Office of Vice President, Sen. Ibrahim Hadeija said Nutrition 774 Initiative was a rallying point for collective action to ensure every child, mother, and community has access to the nutrition they need to survive and thrive.

According to Sen. Hedeija’s remarks delivered by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health and Focal Person for Nutrition, Office of the Vice President, Mrs. Uju Rochas Anwuka, “On behalf of His Excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of the Nutrition 774 Strategic Board, I welcome you to this important national workshop as we take a bold and coordinated step toward the full rollout of the Nutrition 774 Initiative across the country.

“This initiative is a rallying point for collective action. A movement to ensure that every child, every mother, and every community has access to the nutrition they need to survive and thrive. “Nutrition 774 is a call to decentralize solutions, deliver impact at the grassroots, and bring all levels of government into alignment on one clear national agenda.

“This workshop is critical. It brings together national stakeholders across MDAs, development partners, civil society, and technical experts to prepare for the cascading of this initiative to the states and ultimately, to every ward and household. Our success will depend not only on what we say here, but on how we coordinate, implement, and hold ourselves accountable.

“We are building on lessons learned, leveraging existing platforms, and setting a new tone—one of urgency, collaboration, and measurable outcomes.

“Let me commend all the MDAs, and partners for the hard work that has brought us to this point.

On this note, and in the spirit of partnership and progress, I now have the honour to formally declare this Nutrition 774 National Rollout Workshop open” he said.

In her welcome remark, Mrs. Uju Rochas Anwuka said Nutrition 774 Initiative was conceived to provide an urgent, comprehensive response to Nigeria’s malnutrition crisis, elevating nutrition as a national priority.

“Nigeria is facing a critical malnutrition crisis, ranking first in Africa and second globally for child malnutrition, necessitating urgent and sustained interventions. With annual losses exceeding $1.5 billion, malnutrition stands as a national emergency as it undermines human capital and the country’s development” she said.

Also speaking, Director of Social Development, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Sanjo Faniran said it was imperative to state that malnutrition mostly affects people at the grassroots, and which underpins the importance of the Nutrition 774 Initiative aimed at deploying multi-prong strategies to cascade nutrition interventions to all the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria with particular emphasis on improving maternal and child health across the divides.

Faniran represented by a Deputy Director in the Ministry, Clementina Ebere Okoro said the workshop provides another platform for participants to develop clinical pathways that would eventually translate to improve nutrition outcomes at sub-national levels.

He also said the workshop would enable stakeholders to align implementation strategies and ensure coordinated actions at both national and sub-national levels.

Also speaking, Country Director of Nutrition International, Dr. Osita Okonkwo stressed the need to get every household to be aware of their role in ensuring proper nutrition for their family.

He said the program focused on creating an avenue for every household to think inward and every community to come together to address issues around malnutrition for children, pregnant women and adolescent.

“We are here to discuss how to engage communities, Local Government for appropriate action that will address malnutrition in the country. “If we can get everyone on how to address dietary diversity issues, where you have people appropriately choose ingredients for their meals and address some deficiencies, we will make great progress. These are very critical” he said.

Dr. Ladidi Bako mni said Nutrition 774 initiative was a local initiative meant to take the ownership of nutrition interventions to the community level to make the people at the communities to own, operate and run it.

She said Nigeria was currently facing triple burden of malnutrition, high burden of under nutrition, macronutrient deficiency and there was need to address them from the root.

“The Federal Government in collaboration with relevant stakeholders are implementing various interventions to reduce malnutrition.

“There is need to scale up this intervention given the fact that we have a challenge. The easiest way to achieve result looking at the vast nature of our nation was to take it to the grassroots. This was what led to Nutrition 774 Initiative” she said.

Clementina Ebere Okoro of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning said the structures were already in place to achieve the aim of the initiative.

“The local government structures are already been activated. The 774 local governments have structures in Local Government Committee on Food and Nutrition. 223 Local Governments out of the 774 have already activated the Local Government Committee on Food and Nutrition as at last week.

“We also have the Ward Committee on Food and Nutrition at the Ward level. They directly interface and interact with households. In view of these structures, we are optimistic that every household would have access to Nutrition 774 Initiatives” she said.

A Technical Adviser to Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) Akala Samuel said the initiative was a welcome development as it geared towards tackling malnutrition at the Local level given the fact that health was first in all our challenges.

He said the Local Governments were ready to fund the program, sustain it as soon as they start getting direct funding from Federation Account having positioned themselves for direct funding of this project.

A Health Consultant, Nduka Chitoo Nelson said the initiative was about improving the nutritional status of Nigerians from children to adult that would happen in 774 Local Governments in the country and it was grassroot based.

She said communities would be empowered to take action and responsibility based on their situation to address malnutrition regarding their peculiarities.