.Says new board is a war room to save lives, safeguard future

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has inaugurated the Strategic Board of the Nutrition 774 Initiative, describing it as a decisive step by the President Bola Tinubu administration to address the malnutrition crisis threatening lives and development across Nigeria.

According to him, the new board is a war room assembled to win the battle against malnutrition in every corner of the country.

Speaking weekend during the inauguration of the board at the State House in Abuja,  Shettima said malnutrition is a national emergency that poses both health and security threats to Nigeria and requires immediate, coordinated action across all 774 local government areas.

“This Strategic Board is not a ceremonial committee; it is a war room, assembled to win the battle against malnutrition in every corner of this country,” the vice-president said.

Urging members of the newly inaugurated board to treat their appointment as a call to urgent national duty, Shettima said: “This is not a tea-drinking exercise. This is a national call to duty. A race against time. A mission to save lives and safeguard our future.

“We are counting on our state governors to drive implementation at scale, and on our local government chairmen who, being closest to the people, hold the keys to reaching the grassroots.”

He declared that the Nutrition 774 Initiative is President Tinubu administration’s “bold answer to a quiet emergency” that affects homes, schools, hospitals and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps across the country.

“A nation that neglects the physiological needs of its people, particularly the most vulnerable, flirts with instability. Because a malnourished population is an unproductive one, and an unproductive population drags down the wheels of progress,” he warned.

The vice-president explained that the Nutrition 774 Initiative is “designed to harmonise what has been scattered, to end duplication by embracing coordination, and to build a single, unified framework that allows us to align, act and deliver measurable impact”.

Also speaking, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu, commended the vice-president for championing the food security and nutrition initiative, saying such programmes will reduce poverty and enhance social cooperation.

According to him, “We thank you, Your Excellency, for your leadership and what you are doing. There are issues that ministries and the entire MDAs ought to deal with, but you have elevated them to this level under your supervision and leadership. It’s commendable, and we pray that God will continue to protect you and reward you.

“Of course, it is not surprising because on Democracy Day, when I had the opportunity to speak, I reminded the gathering that you have experienced what happens when it goes wrong. You grew up in a peaceful Borno, and then it all went wrong for a combination of reasons. You knew how tough it was to turn things around, but luckily, you did.

“So, I believe when you are doing these things in respect of nutrition and food security, you are doing so from the point of view of your blessed leadership because you have a reckoning with history. We are lucky that you’re leading these efforts.”

On her part, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, while applauding the initiative, called for the empowerment of women, observing that it is an issue of poverty in a country where the majority of the households are female-headed and children-headed due to crises that have claimed the male heads of family.

“So, you find a home that is being headed by an eleven-year-old because they have lost both parents. How do they feed? I think it’s an economic issue, and we have to come out strongly. So, as part of this plan, I would like you to address issues of economic empowerment for women,” she stated.

Also, the Chairman, House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Hon. Chike Okafor, lauded the initiative as a right step in the right direction, assuring the audience that the nutrition programme has all the backing and support of the National Assembly.

“What this initiative is all about is taking it down to the communities, and I want to summarise by saying that you have all the legislative backing at the National Assembly. For us, it is an honour to be a part of this initiative, and we will give all our support and everything that needs to be done to ensure that it is a success,” the lawmaker stated.

Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health (Office of the Vice-President), Mrs Uju Anwuka, said that as Nigeria grapples with a critical malnutrition crisis, there is a need for urgent and sustained intervention.

Pointing out that malnutrition is a national emergency that undermines the nation’s human capital development, she said the Nutrition 774 supports the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Tinubu administration “by investing in human capital, ending hunger and poverty, empowering youth and women, and ensuring equitable development”.

“By addressing malnutrition, the initiative will strengthen educational outcomes, productivity, and health equity across Nigeria,” she added, just as she identified strong leadership, supportive policies, strategic partnerships, and community-driven engagement as strategic pillars to achieve the objectives of Nutrition 774.

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