Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria, CS-SUNN, has challenged local governments across Lagos State to make nutrition a budget priority, warning that the fight against malnutrition cannot succeed when nutrition interventions are left without dedicated funding at the grassroots
The organisation made the call during an advocacy visit to Epe Local Government Area, where it urged the council leadership to create specific budget lines for nutrition across relevant departments and strengthen coordination among agencies responsible for health, agriculture, education, water and sanitation and women affairs
Senior Programme Officer, National Secretariat, CS-SUNN, Kunle Ishola, said the organisation was taking its advocacy to the local government level because nutrition had historically received greater attention at the national and state levels
He said the absence of dedicated nutrition budget lines at local government level had resulted in fragmented interventions that were difficult to coordinate and track
Ishola said: “Over the years, the focus of nutrition has actually been at the national and state level. So CS-SUNN is taking it to the next level, which is going down to the grassroots when it comes to nutrition financing
“We found out that across the nutrition line departments at the local government areas, nutrition is not captured at all in their budgets
“They have been doing some nutrition activities at random, some might not even be trackable. But the only way we can actually have a consolidated, coordinated experience in the nutrition space in the local government is that every line department budgets for nutrition in their departments.”
He called on the council chairman, vice-chairman and other stakeholders to establish dedicated nutrition budget lines and ensure that the Local Government Committee on Food and Nutrition, LGCFN, meets regularly
According to him, effective nutrition programming requires more than the health sector, as the factors driving malnutrition cut across several sectors
Ishola said the multisectoral approach was critical because nutrition was previously viewed largely as an agricultural or health issue
He explained that while agriculture focuses primarily on food production and health focuses on healthcare delivery, effective nutrition interventions require contributions from several sectors
“Now, that is why it is domiciled in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, which is a neutral ground. And because we have found it in WASH, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; education is there, agriculture is there, health is there,” he said
He added: “No single department can run nutrition effectively. It needs the conglomerate, the coordination function of other departments to make a holistic approach to the interventions in the local government area.”
Ishola said CS-SUNN was encouraged by the response from Epe stakeholders, noting that officials had indicated readiness to strengthen coordination and financing
He said officials were already considering holding the first meeting of the LGCFN and introducing nutrition budget lines across departments, subject to approval by the council chairman
“I have never hoped better than the hope given to us today by the stakeholders we met in the local government area,” he said
Medical Officer of Health for Epe Local Government and Chairman of the Association of Medical Officers of Health in Lagos State, Dr Adeleke Awolesi Emmanuel, said the advocacy was timely against the backdrop of increasing malnutrition across the country
He disclosed that the stunting rate in Lagos State was about 30 per cent, stressing the need for stronger community-level interventions
Awolesi said Epe had been implementing interventions including exclusive breastfeeding promotion, screening of children for malnutrition and referral of affected children for appropriate care
“The Food and Nutrition Committee is a very important part of the local government system now because we have an increase in malnutrition in the entire country and Lagos State is also part of it,” he said
He said the committee had the responsibility of ensuring that vulnerable groups, including children, women and the elderly, were not excluded from nutrition and food security programmes
According to him, the advocacy would help the local government organise existing activities under a coordinated framework
“It is just for us to organise our activities. Many of these things our Executive Chairman has been doing. So we will just organise it like the committee wants and we will be able to achieve more and better,” he said
The Council Manager, Epe Local Government, Mrs Shofolu Olufumilayo Alice, said the council had already been implementing a number of programmes targeting maternal and child health
She said the council chairman, Princess Olayemi Surah Animashaun, was passionate about the health and development of women and children
According to her, the council engages women on maternal and child health, supports referrals for residents requiring treatment and provides food packages for mothers and children on a quarterly basis
“This advocacy is going to improve food and nutrition cases that we have in Epe,” Shofolu said
She said the council would now intensify efforts to reach rural communities and strengthen existing interventions
On community participation, Shofolu said the council relied heavily on Community Development Associations to mobilise residents and disseminate information
She said: “We cannot do it alone. We still have to rely on the people of the community. When we call the leaders of each community, if we go there, we meet the Community Development Association
“We dialogue with them, so they will take back whatever we’ve discussed to the community.”
Ishola said Epe was one of five local government areas selected for the first phase of the advocacy, with plans to extend the initiative to all local government areas in Lagos State
He said the choice of Epe was not based on any special advantage but was part of the organisation’s initial selection process
“We just picked at random our five selected local government areas to see. It is not convenient because we came from a very far place and it is quite a distance to come to Epe. But it is very good that we came here,” he said
Ishola said the commitment shown by Epe officials demonstrated that stronger nutrition financing and coordination were achievable at the grassroots
He expressed confidence that dedicated funding, regular LGCFN meetings and collaboration among government departments would translate into better nutrition outcomes for women and children in the local government area
