By Nana Musa
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (FMBEP), Dr Deborah Odoh, says the ongoing review of the National Policy on Food and Nutrition is key to Nigeria’s food security.
Odoh said this in a statement issued by the Director, Information and Public Relationship in the ministry, Mrs Osagie Jacobs, in Abuja on Wednesday.
She made the statement during a steering committee meeting for the review of the national policy on food and nutrition and its implementation plan.
The meeting brought together key nutrition stakeholders across sectors to deliberate on the draft policy and provide recommendations to make it comprehensive, implementable, and impactful.
She said that it was a critical milestone in the country’s collective effort to strengthen food and nutrition security.
Odoh said that the steering committee was inaugurated in March 2025.
She said that it was established to provide leadership for the review process and to align the existing policy with emerging trends, national realities, and the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government.
According to her, the review process has been highly consultative.
“It involves extensive stakeholder engagements aimed at producing a 10-year blueprint (2026–2035) to guide food and nutrition security interventions at both national and sub-national levels,” she said.
Odoh said that the revised policy was expected to promote healthy diets, address all forms of malnutrition, and improve the nutritional status of vulnerable groups, particularly women, children, adolescents, and the elderly.
She said that the purpose of the meeting was to consider the draft revised policy ahead of its presentation to the National Council on Nutrition scheduled for Jan. 28.
The Director of Nutrition, Mrs Clementina Okoro, said that the revised policy was central to achieving national goals on reducing malnutrition and addressing food and nutrition challenges over the next decade.
Okoro commended the collective contributions of Federal and State Ministries, Development Partners, Consultants, Civil Society Organisations, the Private Sector, Academia, and Partners like GAIN, for their sustained support throughout the review process.
The Special Assistant to the President on Public Health and Food and Nutrition, Mrs Uju Anwuka, underscored the importance of food and nutrition security to economic recovery, workforce productivity, and national stability.
Anwuka said that the national policy on food and nutrition guided multisectoral actions across health, agriculture, social protection, water and sanitation.
She, however, said that evolving realities such as population growth, climate change, and food system transformations necessitated the review.
