The Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (FMBEP), through its Food and Nutrition Department, successfully conducted a series of 2-Day Zonal Stakeholders Meetings across seven states as part of the ongoing review of the National Policy on Food and Nutrition (NPFN).
These meetings formed a critical component of the national consultation process, ensuring that the revised policy reflects diverse state-level perspectives, implementation realities, and multisectoral insights needed to strengthen Nigeria’s nutrition response.
The zonal engagements brought together State Nutrition Officers, MDAs, CSOs, implementing partners, academia, community representatives, and development partners, all working collectively to shape an improved national policy framework.
States, Venues, and Dates
The meetings were conducted as follows:
1. Niger State
Venue: Zuma Resort -- Date: 01 – 02 September 2025
2. FCT (Batch 1)
Venue: Reiz Continental Hotel, Abuja -- Date: 26 – 27 September 2025
3. Kano State
Venue: R & K Hotel, Kano -- Date: 29 – 30 September 2025
4. FCT (Batch 2)
Venue: Reiz Continental Hotel, Abuja -- Date: 02 – 03 October 2025
5. Bauchi State
Venue: Hazbal Hotel, Bauchi -- Date: 09 – 10 October 2025
6. Enugu State
Venue: Enugu North -- Date: 10 – 11 October 2025
7. Edo State
Venue: Egor -- Date: 10 – 11 October 2025
Purpose of the Zonal Meetings
The 2-Day Zonal Stakeholders Meetings were convened to:
- Gather state-level inputs to enrich the revised NPFN.
- Strengthen multisectoral engagement across the food and nutrition ecosystem.
- Identify coordination and reporting gaps across states and LGAs.
- Align state priorities with the emerging national policy direction.
- Promote evidence-driven, inclusive policymaking.
- Foster shared responsibility for improving Nigeria’s nutrition outcomes.
These engagements ensured that the review process captured the realities and operational challenges of implementing nutrition interventions at sub-national levels.
Key Meeting Highlights
Across all seven states, participants engaged in robust discussions on:
- Current trends in malnutrition and food insecurity.
- Gaps within the existing NPFN and areas requiring restructuring.
- The importance of functional State Committees on Food and Nutrition.
- Strengthening coordination between health, agriculture, education, WASH, social protection, and gender sectors.
- Improving data collection, reporting, and accountability mechanisms.
- State-level strategies for achieving national targets on stunting, wasting, and micronutrient deficiencies.
- SWOT analysis on policy strengths, gaps, and implementation opportunities.
Meeting outputs formed part of the technical inputs for the national-level review and validation sessions.
HLADI’s Technical and Documentation Support
The Health and Lifestyle Awareness Development Initiative (HLADI) provided digital, administrative, and documentation support across all states. Activities included:
- Online registration of all participants before and during the sessions.
- Digital attendance marking for credible, real-time reporting.
- Photography and documentation of all meetings for reporting and archival use.
- Ensuring orderly coordination and assisting state teams with verification and record-keeping processes.
HLADI’s support ensured uniform documentation standards and improved digital tracking across all zonal meetings.
Expected Outcomes
The zonal sessions are expected to:
- Enhance the quality, inclusiveness, and relevance of the revised NPFN.
- Strengthen collaboration between federal, state, and LGA nutrition structures.
- Improve coordination and accountability across multisectoral nutrition actors.
- Boost state ownership and commitment to national nutrition priorities.
- Support more efficient, data-driven implementation at all levels.
Conclusion
The completion of the 2-Day Zonal Stakeholders Meetings across the seven states marks a major milestone in the national review of the National Policy on Food & Nutrition.
By integrating state-level insights, operational challenges, and multisectoral perspectives, the revised NPFN is poised to become more robust, inclusive, and aligned with Nigeria’s development agenda.
FMBEP, in partnership with state stakeholders and technical partners like HLADI, remains committed to strengthening nutrition governance and advancing a healthier, better-nourished Nigeria.