The World Bank has approved a $50 million fund to support Nigeria in tackling its food and nutrition challenges. The announcement was made by Ndiame Diop, the World Bank’s Country Director, during a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday.
The funding is part of the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) project 2.0, a crisis response program aimed at improving nutrition outcomes across the country. Trina Haque, Practice Manager for Health, Nutrition, and Population at the World Bank, emphasized the importance of nutrition education for children and adolescents to foster early child development.
In response, Vice President Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to addressing its nutrition crisis through a community-driven approach. He introduced the N-774 Initiative, a localized solution designed to address the specific needs of each of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas (LGAs). The initiative builds upon the successful outcomes of the ANRiN project.
Shettima highlighted the significance of the N-774 Initiative, which comes at a critical time following the closeout of the ANRiN project. He noted that under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership, Nigeria is shifting towards locally owned nutrition programs. “The N-774 Initiative represents our commitment to community-driven development and sustainable nutrition outcomes,” he said.
The Vice President stressed that malnutrition is a national issue requiring a Nigerian solution, with the administration integrating nutrition goals across sectors such as education, agriculture, health, and social protection.
With a strong political will, Shettima expressed confidence that the initiative would yield impactful results through collaboration between the federal and state governments, as well as international partners, to improve community health outcomes across Nigeria.
