National Council on Nutrition (NCN) has approved Nigeria’s National Policy on Food and Nutrition (NPEN) 2026–2035, paving the way for transmission to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for final ratification.
According to reports, the decision was reached at the Council’s 15th meeting, held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The new policy is described as a comprehensive, multi-sectoral framework intended to guide Nigeria’s nutrition and food security interventions over the next decade.
Shettima said the NPFN was “the most consequential nutrition policy this country has produced,” adding that it was evidence-based, grassroots-driven and cuts across sectors.
“We will be judged not by our deliberations but by our deliveries. Not by what we decided in April 2026, but by what mothers and children across the 774 local government areas experience by 2035,” he told the Council.
Consequently, the Council directed all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to set up functional State Councils on Nutrition within three months.
It also instructed states and the FCT to operationalise multisectoral plans of action on food and nutrition within six to nine months.
All ministries, departments and agencies have been mandated to align programmes, plans and budgets with the policy within 12 months.
Later on, the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning will transmit the policy to the FEC.
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On legislation, the Council approved a six-week extension for a draft National Nutrition Bill, but said it must reach the National Assembly within eight weeks.
The Vice President said the proposed law would safeguard nutrition financing and define roles across tiers of government.
To strengthen funding, the Council expanded its nutrition financing sub-committee to include the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the Commissioners of Finance Forum, and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).
To avoid duplication, the Council said it will work with the Nutrition 774 Strategic Board.
The NCN also approved a co-branded nutrition intervention window to be launched within 60 days, in partnership with the Dangote Foundation and relevant ministries, to boost private sector participation.
Shettima announced the Nutrition 774 Initiative would be central to implementation, describing it as a practical framework for delivering interventions across all 774 local government areas.