National Council Adopts 10-Year Nutrition Policy

The National Council on Nutrition has adopted the National Policy on Food and Nutrition (NPFN), 2026–2035, and directed the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to present the policy to the Federal Executive Council for ratification.

The council’s approval followed a painstaking process of ratification by critical stakeholders in Nigeria’s nutrition sector, comprising public and private sector sponsors.

The adoption of the policy was part of decisions taken by the council at its 15th meeting, held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Summarising the Council’s decision, the Vice President urged members of Council to be guarded by the reality that behind every statistic discussed at the meeting “is a Nigerian child whose life chances are being written by what the government does or fails to do in the months ahead.” “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 in the 774 local government areas experience by 2035,” he added.

Senator Kashim Shettima described the NPFN 2026–2035 as “the most consequential nutrition policy this country has produced,” saying “it is multi-sectoral by design, evidence-based by discipline, and grassroots by orientation.”