NCN adopts 10-year food and nutrition policy, seeks FEC approval

The National Council on Nutrition (NCN) has adopted the National Policy on Food and Nutrition (NPFN) 2026–2035 and directed the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to forward it to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for ratification.

The decision was taken at the council’s 15th meeting held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, following a stakeholder-driven review involving actors across Nigeria’s nutrition ecosystem.

Vice President Shettima, while summarising the resolutions, stressed that government would be judged by real-life outcomes rather than policy discussions.

“We will be judged not by our deliberations but by our deliveries. Not by what we decided in April 2026, but by what mothers and children in the 774 local government areas experience by 2035,” he said.

He described the new policy as a landmark framework for Nigeria’s nutrition sector.

“The NPFN 2026–2035 is the most consequential nutrition policy this country has produced. It is multi-sectoral by design, evidence-based by discipline, and grassroots by orientation,” Shettima stated.

He added that the policy cuts across all tiers of government and sectors.

“It is not a Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning document. It is not a Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare document. It belongs to every Ministry, every State, every LGA, every ward, and every household represented in the work of this Council,” he said.

The council directed that all nutrition-related ministries, departments and agencies align their policies and budgets with the framework within 12 months, while all 36 states and the FCT are to develop and operationalise multisectoral nutrition action plans within six to nine months.