Abia Governor Launches State Council On Nutrition
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has launched the State Council on Nutrition, pledging to integrate nutrition-focused planning into the state’s development agenda.
At the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday at Nvosi, Isialangwa South LGA, Governor Otti stated, “Nutrition is the foundation of public health, productivity, and long-term economic growth.”
He highlighted Abia State’s commitment to allocating 15% of its annual budget to healthcare and 20% to education over the last two years, totaling 35% of the budget to critical human capital development sectors.
Governor Otti emphasized the importance of monitoring nutrition data, saying, “Now that you have come here, if there’s nothing that you have succeeded in doing, it’s to now get us to be deliberate in monitoring our numbers.”
The State Strategic Board on Nutrition will oversee the implementation of the Federal Government’s Nutrition 774 (N-774) initiative, aimed at improving nutrition outcomes across Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas and enhancing food security, health, and nutrition.
The Council will be chaired by Governor Otti and comprise members from various ministries.
The Governor directed the Commissioner for Budget and Planning to ensure nutrition-related programs are tagged and captured in future budgets, starting with the 2025 fiscal year.
He stated, “Our 2025 budget is green, that means it is climate-compliant and nutrition-compliant. You will see very significant improvement. We tagged it and we derived ₦3.4 billion from the average ₦1.3 billion that it used to be.
So we are scaling it up as we progress.” Governor Otti urged Council members to ensure effective coordination and performance tracking, noting, “What you are doing is a direct intervention and you are monitoring the outcomes, and that is critical.”
Dr. Uju Anwukah, SSA to the President on Nutrition and Focal Person for the Nutrition 774 initiative, presented an overview of the program, describing malnutrition as a global menace that “contributes to about 45% of child deaths and drives intergenerational poverty.”
She emphasized Nigeria’s ranking as second globally in malnutrition-related burden, with an annual economic loss of about $1.5 billion.
Dr. Anwukah stated, “This visit is not just a nutrition engagement, it is a mission of purpose under the renewed health agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
She praised Governor Otti’s administration for its reforms and applauded Abia’s increasing budgetary allocation for nutrition from ₦231 million in 2022 to ₦1.35 billion in 2024, calling Abia a “model of emerging best practices.”
Dr. Anwukah urged the State Government to strengthen its commitment to fighting malnutrition.
Abia Governor Launches State Council On Nutrition is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
