Despite the fact that Lagos is a state with abundant natural and human resources, malnutrition still remains public health concerns.
Consequently, the state government is pushing for the sum of N82.124 billion to tackle the menace.
A breakdown of the figure showed that N46.018 billion representing 56 percent of the total amount will be used to enhance caregiving capacity; N26.834 billion (32.7 percent) will go to enhancing the provision of quality health services; N5.812 billion (7.1 percent) will be used to improve capacity to address food and nutrition insecurity and N2.329 billion or 2.8 percent for food and nutrition security.
Other areas are raising awareness and understanding of the problem of malnutrition in the state (N974,253,485 representing 1.2 percent) and resource allocation for food and nutrition security at all levels (N154,939,800 representing 0.2 percent).
The state has 39.4 percent of children under five who are stunted (low height for age) and 15.8 per cent high levels of wasting.
With the N82.124 billion, stakeholders believed that it will reduce hunger and malnutrition by 50 percent by 2029; reduce childhood wasting from 15.8 percent to seven percent; reduce stunting among under-five children from 39.4 percent to 15 percent by 2029 and scale up Multiple Micronutrient Supplement to 30 percent by 2029, among others.
The permanent secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ibrahim Obajomo, at the launch of the Lagos State Multisectoral Strategic Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (LSMPFAN 2025-2029) yesterday in Lagos, averred that nutrition had been established and ascertained as the bed-rock of good health, hence, it is majorly a public health concern while other militating factors are controlled and addressed in conjunction with other nutrition-related sectors to ensure good nutritional status for all citizens.
Obajomo asserted that there is enough food for everybody on earth, yet, malnutrition is still common and it is associated with millions of deaths globally every year.
He commended the state government for establishing and inaugurating the State Committee on Food and Nutrition in 2016.
“The goal of the committee is to attain optimal nutritional status for all Lagosians, with emphasis on the most vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant mothers, lactating women, adolescents, physically challenged people, the elderly, and the aged,” he added.
On the launch of LSMPFAN, the permanent secretary said it is the functional tool to address the problems of malnutrition, adding that the rationale of implementation of the interventions in the Multi-sectoral Plan of Action is to encourage all the residents to practice adequate nutrition throughout the phases of life.
“Adequate food and nutrition for all is globally accepted and prioritised as a developmental agenda that yields high socio-economic returns when embraced.
“It is also importance to note the holistic function of this document i.e. LSMSPFAN in addressing the extreme hunger across different levels in Lagos State. The Multi-sectoral Plan of Action on Food and Nutrition will strengthen synergy among public and private sectors, development partners to collaborate and involve in the implementation of activities towards eradication of malnutrition in our State,” he posited.
In his remarks, the executive secretary, CS-SUNN, Okoronkwo Sunday, said one cannot overstate the importance of food and nutrition security in any society’s development, adding that, “By addressing the critical issues of food and nutrition insecurity, we are paving the way for a brighter future where every citizen has access to safe, healthy, and adequate nutrition year-round.”
The Lagos State Strategic Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition embodies a holistic approach, recognising the need for a multi-sectoral approach to tackling the malnutrition challenges in the state, which has not improved, Okoronkwo said, adding that, “Although this is the second edition of the strategic plan of action, which was launched in 2019, the first did not impact the nutrition situation due to the very low level of implementation, mostly driven by inadequate funding.”