The Policy is the basis for the comprehensive realti-sectoral plan of action on food and nutrition (NMPFAN) that was adopted by the government in 2021.
The governance framework in the NPFN identifies strategic oversight for nutrition planning and programming at the level of the National Council on Nutrition (NCN) and program coordination through the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning (now the federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, FMBEP) as the coordinating ministry for nution programs. The FMBEP serves as the secretariat for the NCN as well as the National Committee on Food and Nutrition (NCFN), and as the secretariat, its role is to coordinate the planning and implementation of various policies and programs on food and nutrition in the country. A similar structure exists at the State and Local Government levels, where the State Committees on Food and Nutrition (SCFN) as well as the Local Government Committees on Food and Nutrition (LGCFN) are expected to play a comparable role. At the LGA, LGCFN is to be established and located in the Office of the LGA Vice Chairman. Membership of the committee will be drawn from relevant Departments and Agencies of government as well as representatives of CSOs dealing with issues of food and nutrition.
[17:53, 23/04/2025] Boss Machine: Although the NCFN and SCFNs have operated with various challenges and limitations, over the years, the LGCFNs have been inoperative. The absence of a cogent and clear-cut nutrition agenda at the local government level has resulted in a significant gap in the NPFN's governance framework required to ensure a results-oriented program implementation at the grassroots level. While the States have been active contributors to the improvement of nutrition outcomes, challenges such as limited resources and multiple institutional encumbrances have fettered progress in improving nutritional outcomes across the country.
Strengthening the Local Government Committee on Food and Nutrition presents an opportunity to engage the governance framework of the NPFN and to ensure the delivery of nutrition interventions at the community level.
An important rationale this has for the country is the ability to achieve meaningful development since the local government councils are the closest tier of government to the people.
The NCN, under the leadership of His Excellency the Vice President, has set out to prioritize innovation and research in its quest to significantly transform the nation's nutritional landscape, while facilitating comprehen multi-stakeholder engagement, encompassing various sectors, as well as fusing interventions across different levels of government.
A Nutrition Core Working Committee (NCWC) was established to provide strategic guidance to the Council and has thus far supported the development of a nationwide strategy on nutrition, adopted by the Vice President on behalf of the NCN, as well as the elaboration of the Nutrition 774 Initiative (N-774), an-sectoral nutrition program.