Unveiling the Blueprint for Nutrition Advocacy in Nigeria:
Over the years, CS-SUNN has positioned itself as a key player in Nigeria’s nutrition advocacy efforts through collaboration, evidence-based advocacy, and strategic planning in contributing to addressing the nutrition challenges that continue to affect millions of Nigerians.
Though Nigeria’s nutrition landscape has not been without some challenges, a major step has been taken towards changing the narrative during a landmark workshop hosted by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoH&SW) with active collaboration from CS-SUNN and other nutrition partners. This key workshop successfully generated contents for Nigeria’s first ever comprehensive Nutrition Advocacy Document, an evidence-based strategic tool aimed at addressing malnutrition across all life cycles.
The workshop held from 20th-24th August 2024 brought together key stakeholders from various sectors—government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (FMoH&SW and State MDAs), some State Nutrition Officers, Development partners like UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO) Helen Keller International (HKI), FHI360, Nutrition International (NI), Nutrition Agriculture and Health Initiative (NAHI), SOH Foundation, Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI), and the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP). Others include; International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH), Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), National Hospital, Academia from Bayero University Kano, University of Ibadan, media and CS-SUNN.
Declaring the workshop open, Mrs. Ladidi K. Bako Aiyegbusi (mni), Head of Nutrition Department FMoH&SW, said globally, advocacy has been identified as a powerful tool to get the attention of decision-makers, secure their commitment, and drive policy changes. She added that the Nutrition Department of the Health Ministry, in collaboration with stakeholders, is taking the lead to develop a strategic document that will provide clear direction on how to effectively drive nutrition advocacy in Nigeria.
She revealed that Nigeria has received two consignments of donated Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS)- with the first batch, received in July, consisting of 500,000 doses already distributed to five states. The second batch of 800,000 doses, she said arrived this month and is being distributed to an additional eight states in line with Federal Government’s commitment to improving pregnancy care and outcomes in Nigeria.
Mrs Bako commended CS-SUNN for supporting the Nutrition Department in laying the foundation for this critical work. In her words “Through this collaboration, we are identifying who is responsible for what and mapping the existing structures for nutrition advocacy that we can harness. This meeting marks the first step in charting the course for Nigeria. It is about setting a direction, developing a guide, and creating a strategic framework for conducting evidence-based, results-oriented nutrition advocacy in Nigeria and we thank CS-SUNN for the support. Additionally, we are exploring how to institutionalize effective knowledge management practices in the nutrition sector—not just within health, but across other ministries. My Minister is eager to see the outcome of this 5-day strategic meeting, as it will shape the future of nutrition advocacy in Nigeria”.
Speaking on behalf of CS-SUNN Executive Secretary, Lilian Okafor commended the Government of Nigeria for the shift towards MMS and the arrival of the latest consignments of MMS, adding that CS-SUNN is proud of Nigeria’s progressive steps towards enabling optimal nutrition outcomes for pregnant women. In her words “advocacy is at the heart of CS-SUNN and the alliance has been working tirelessly to ensure nutrition remains a priority on Government’s development agenda. We are hopeful that all hands will be on deck to develop contents for a strategic advocacy document for nutrition in Nigeria”, she stated.
Partners present delivered heartfelt goodwill messages, reaffirming their commitment to ensuring the successful development, dissemination, and implementation of the document.
The workshop’s primary goal was to create a unified, evidence-based advocacy document that would drive Nigeria’s nutrition advocacy agenda at every level, from national to sub national levels. The workshop featured impactful presentations that offered a deep insight into Nigeria’s nutrition challenges. A Consultant, Dr. Olutayo Adeyemi’s presentation highlighted the need for nutrition advocacy in Nigeria, identifying factors such as a rapidly growing population, poor interventions, and lack of data. She emphasized the importance of advocacy as a tool to bring about policy changes and resource mobilization for nutrition-sensitive programs like MMS.
Chief Moji Makanjuola, MFR, and Executive Director of ISMPH in her presentation, stressed the critical role of advocacy in raising awareness, influencing policy, and mobilizing resources for combating severe acute malnutrition (SAM), which is on the rise. She outlined key strategies for effective nutrition advocacy, focusing on media engagement, community involvement, and collaboration with political actors such as the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON). Another Consultant, Dr. Williams Anyebe’s presentation on the National Guideline on Integrated Health Advocacy further cemented the importance of a coordinated approach to advocacy, highlighting the need for integration of health and nutrition policies.
The Advocacy Strategy: Addressing Critical Nutrition Issues:
CS-SUNN played a key role throughout the workshop, particularly in guiding group task sessions that identified key enhancers and inhibitors of nutrition advocacy. The participants, divided into five groups—state, academia, federal, civil society organizations, and development partners—engaged in discussions to generate practical recommendations for addressing nutrition challenges- The sessions saw group tasks on prioritized nutrition advocacy issues, ASKs, Stakeholder analysis and mapping, advocacy targets, Implementing partners roles and areas of interest and potential communication products and channels. Some Enhancers of nutrition advocacy identified include the existence of a multisectoral coordination platform, Effective multisectoral and multidisciplinary partnership and collaboration, Nutrition advocacy agenda embedded in all partners’ implementation strategies, Strong capacity (expertise) among partner organizations, Establishment of high-level nutrition structures and Improved partnerships with the media among others.
Inhibitors are as follows; Lack of easy access to political actors; Poor utilisation of strategic nutrition plans; Delay in the release of budgetary allocation for nutrition interventions; Inadequate human resources; Inadequate nutrition structures at the grass root level; Lack of Nutrition Advocates and Change in governance among others.
Key advocacy requests for Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) generated include increased funding for nutrition to ensure the sustainable roll-out of MMS across Nigeria, enhanced awareness of MMS at the community level, particularly among traditional rulers and women leaders, development and localization of strategic guidelines and standardized protocols for MMS implementation. Others are establishment of a robust MMS supply chain to guarantee availability to pregnant women at all level, approval of the Child Nutrition Fund for the roll-out of MMS and other nutrition commodities and the integration MMS data into the National Health Management Information System (NHMIS).
Participants Perspectives:
Prof. Oladejo Adepoju, representative of the NSN President said “I would like to commend CS-SUNN for organizing this valuable engagement aimed at enhancing nutrition advocacy in Nigeria. This initiative fosters collaboration and synergy, helping us move away from working in silos. CS-SUNN has been doing commendable work, including sponsoring and supporting the SUN ARN network. We urge CS-SUNN to assist the academic community in closing data gaps through the SUN ARN and to facilitate the harmonization of research papers on nutrition for broader impact”-
“The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMOH&SW) expresses gratitude to CS-SUNN for their support, including accommodation and logistics for this activity. The advocacy document is key for engaging stakeholders and achieving Nigeria’s nutrition goals. CS-SUNN’s collaboration with states and consultants has aligned with this vision. We look forward to further meetings and continued partnership to finalize and implement the document. CS-SUNN’s guidance will be essential in ensuring its effective use by the FMOH&SW,” said Pharm. Orume Beatrice, a Deputy Director at the FMOH&SW.
In the words of Osun state SNO, Popoola Olukemi “I commend this meeting on advocacy for nutrition and MMS as a significant initiative. CS-SUNN’s commitment to advocacy and raising awareness on nutrition is commendable. This program has been highly impactful, providing a platform to address challenges in the nutrition sector and explore solutions. I am confident that we will develop an advocacy document that will significantly improve the health of women and children, contributing to a reduction in child morbidity and mortality.”
A New Dawn for Nutrition Advocacy in Nigeria:
The collaborative efforts of all stakeholders, led to the development of prioritized contents for nutrition advocacy. The outcomes of these group discussions will directly inform the content of the advocacy document, ensuring that it is not only comprehensive but also actionable in guiding future engagements with policymakers (to ensure nutrition remains a top priority in Nigeria’s agenda).
The next steps for the document include harmonizing the group work by consultants, followed by the submission of a comprehensive document to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW). The ministry will review the document and share it with relevant stakeholders for feedback, which will be gathered using an online platform. This feedback will be harmonized in collaboration with the consultants and FMoHSW. A subsequent technical review meeting will be organized by the ministry to finalize the process of creating a Strategic Nutrition Advocacy Document for Nigeria.
The success of this workshop marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s fight against malnutrition. The comprehensive Nutrition Advocacy Document, once finalized, will serve as a critical tool for mobilizing resources, raising awareness, and influencing policy changes at both the national and sub-national levels.
As Nigeria moves forward with the finalization and implementation of the nutrition advocacy strategy, the role of CS-SUNN and its partners will remain critical in ensuring that these efforts lead to tangible improvements in the nutrition and health outcomes of all Nigerians.
Please follow the links to read up media publications from the Nutrition Advocacy Workshop:
