House of Reps, 27 State Assemblies, Ministers Move to End Malnutrition, Food Insecurity

Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The House of Representatives and 27 State Houses of Assembly and ministers, have resolved to end malnutrition and food insecurity in the country with adequate collaboration.

This was made known at the inauguration of the National Legislative Network on Nutrition and Food Security by the House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, in Abuja, on Monday.

Speaking at the inauguration, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, represented by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, expressed worries over growing food insecurity in the country.

Abbas said that there was urgent need to address the issue of nutrition and food security as the representatives of the people.

He said: “We are taking concrete steps to restore hope to the suffering masses that will guarantee the enhancement of their well-being.”

The Speaker who promised to initiate a strategic legislative process to tackle malnutrition and food security acknowledged that it is not the best time for the citizenry.

His words: “We need the involvement of the state assembly to attain nutrition and food security, and this move is in the right direction to achieve a greater result. We shared the people’s pains, discomfort, suffering, and depression following the worrisome cost of food items and the decline in nutrition.”

The chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Hon. Chike Okafor, while speaking also said that it was important to note that malnutrition and food insecurity remained a constant threat to socio-economic development in Nigeria.

Okafor also said that this had become an existential threat and that worsening inflation has also aggravated the burden on ordinary Nigerians.

According to Okafor, “There is, however, cause for optimism; the optimism we share stems from the fact that, for the first time, attempts to tackle malnutrition and food insecurity will have a legislative push.

“This legislative perspective will be driven collectively and holistically, anchored on the joint effort of the committees at the National and State Houses of Assembly. This would be driven by a joint work plan with flexibility for the incorporation of state-specific exigencies.”

The Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly and Chairman of the of the Conference of Speakers, State Legislators, Mr. Debo Ogundoyin, while contributing also said the wellbeing of the citizenry in the area of food security and nutrition had taken center stage.

Ogundoyin said that it was imperative to carry the states along because it would provide the requisite understanding to tackle the issue.

While expressing commitment of the states’ assemblies to work toward eradicating malnutrition and food insecurity, he stated that Nigeria is one of the deprived countries in Africa when it comes to nourishment for our children.

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate also said that there was a need to come together to deal with the issue of malnutrition and that they remained the pillars of President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.

Pate further said that the country had struggled with acute malnutrition and that there was a need to deal with it and the issue of over and undernutrition.

“We have diabetes and hypertension because of the processed food we eat. It is not just the calories, but the diversity of the diet, which is very important. Issues of malnutrition affect the performance of a child in school and their productivity and children’s survival depends on nutrition,” Pate said.

According to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Abubakar Baguda, “Nutrition and food security challenges are constitutional and that the three tiers of government must invest more in them.”

“This involves giving each of the three tiers pride of place in what they could do to address the menace. Nutrition is a localized issue; there are differences from one community to the next.

“We need to localize challenges. The resource constraints are one of the challenges of nutrition and food security. Nigeria could find resources to fund its priorities.”

He added that “Nigeria has been underinvesting, and we are determined to change policies”

However, The Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, noted that, “We need to identify strategies to prevent and alleviate the suffering of our people. Malnutrition is a major issue in Nigeria, affecting most children.”

While listing banditry, kidnapping, and policy frame work, among others, as some of the factors responsible for the manultrition and food crisis in the country, Kyari added that “We are collaborating with ministries and other agencies to ensure food and nutrition security.

“We want to create awareness and collaboration among the three arms of government. This includes development partners to effectively address the manpower and food crises in Nigeria. No family should be denied their basic right to food and nutrition.”