By Abdullahi Lukman
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and UNICEF have urged the six area councils to take full ownership of local food and nutrition programmes to reduce malnutrition and strengthen food security across the territory.
The call was made at the second-quarter meeting and capacity-building programme of the Area Council Committee on Food and Nutrition in Abuja.
The Mandate Secretary of the Economic Planning, Revenue Generation and Public-Private Partnership Secretariat, Mr Ubokutom Nyah, represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Mr Uba Bala, described nutrition security as essential to human capital development and economic growth.
Nyah acknowledged UNICEF’s financial and technical support but stressed that the success of nutrition policies depended largely on effective implementation at the grassroots.
He urged area council leaders and nutrition focal officers to take ownership of local interventions, improve coordination among relevant sectors and ensure that resources reached vulnerable communities.
The Director of the Food and Nutrition Department, EPRGPPP, Princess Gaza-Oluwafemi, said the capacity-building programme was designed to strengthen participants’ understanding of nutrition, the local burden of malnutrition and priority interventions, particularly during the first 1,000 days of life.
She said the training also focused on monitoring, evaluation, reporting, multisectoral coordination, the Child Nutrition Fund matching mechanism and the development of practical, area-specific work plans.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the FCT Primary Health Care Board, Dr Dan Gadzama, said area councils were critical to addressing nutrition challenges among vulnerable groups, especially pregnant women and young children.
Gadzama noted that while policies were developed at higher levels of government, implementation largely took place within communities, making local committees essential to translating policies into tangible benefits.
Representing the UNICEF-US Department of State Maternal and Child Health Umbrella Grant, Dr Chizoba Steve-Edemba, said local committees were best positioned to drive sustainable improvements in food and nutrition programmes.
The vice chairmen of the six area councils pledged to prioritise the implementation of nutrition policies in their respective councils.
NAN
