CS-SUNN commends Kaduna governor for releasing N400m to nutrition scale-up

From Sola Ojo, Abuja

The Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has commended Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, for releasing a 2024 counterpart fund of N400 million for nutrition programmes in the state.

With this N400 million from the state government and another N400 million from UNICEF—bringing the total to N800 million—nutrition programmes and interventions in the state are expected to be significantly scaled up, reducing acute malnutrition, stunting, and other nutrition challenges.

According to Ms Jessica Bartolomew, State Coordinator of CS-SUNN, the state government’s commitment to nutrition is laudable.

She spoke on the sidelines of a two-day meeting on the assessment of the implementation of the Save the Children International Anchor IV project in Kaduna State, held between 7 and 8 February 2025 at a hotel in Kaduna.

She added that CS-SUNN is hopeful the allocation will be increased to N500 million in 2025.

To her, this increase would enable the state to cover more ground in nutrition interventions, including funding support groups.

“Governor Uba Sani has shown interest and commitment to saving lives in Kaduna State, and this initiative is a significant step towards achieving that goal.

“The Kaduna State Government has demonstrated its commitment to improving nutrition in the state by allocating N400 million as counterpart funding to UNICEF for the procurement of nutrition commodities.

“This move is part of the state’s efforts to prioritise preventive nutrition interventions, including maternal, infant, and young child nutrition, as well as adolescent nutrition.

“The state is also focusing on providing multi-micronutrient supplements (MMS) for pregnant women and lactating mothers,” she said.