CS-SUNN has supported the Lagos State government to successfully inaugurate the first ever Local Government Committee on Food and Nutrition (LGCFN), in Orile- Agege Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos state. The inauguration of the Orile- Agege LGCFN is particularly apt as there is urgent need to increase efforts at tackling malnutrition at the grassroots in the state.
A total of 44 participants drawn from the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget (MEPB), Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLG&CA), Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Information and Strategy (MoIS), Alive and Thrive (A&T), Media, and CS-SUNN participated in the inauguration meeting of the Orile-Agege LGCFN (supported by CS-SUNN) recently in Lagos state.
Chairman of Orile-Agege LGA, Honorable Sunday Johnson Babatunde, inaugurated the 10-member committee from all relevant departments of the LGA as members of the LGCFN and tasked them to pilot the functionality of the Orile-Agege LGCFN. These members took their oath of office and pledged their commitments to ensuring the functionality of the Orile-Agege LGCFN.
Hon. Babatunde told CS-SUNN that “we see it as a privilege to be here, to be pioneer LGCFN in Lagos and we must ensure that we make the best of the reason we are here for the future of our children.”
The Lagos State Nutrition Officer, Mrs. Braheem Olubunmi said “the state has been putting efforts to inaugurate the LGCFN since 2017 until now, so we thank God for giving us the grace to witness this reality and we appreciate CS-SUNN. I hope that the committee will be functional after the inauguration and am excited to announce that very soon, the Ward Development Committee (WDC) would be established. Food is a fundamental human right and nutrition is the bedrock of life.”
CS-SUNN Executive Secretary, Mr. Sunday Okoronkwo, explained that CS-SUNN was delighted and privileged to support the inauguration of the Orile-Agege LGCFN to improve effective coordination of nutrition interventions at the LGA level. He expressed optimism that all LGAs in Lagos will have a functional LGCFN to curb the burden of malnutrition in the State. He pledged CS-SUNN’s commitment to uphold engagements on the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) to ensure nutrition is not left out.
Mrs. Oluwumi Ajayi from Alive & Thrive said “I want to appreciate CS-SUNN for this important milestone in Lagos and I look forward to seeing that Lagos children are alive and thriving. I am glad to be here and this initiative will encourage partners and the government to continue to support nutrition at the grassroots level. I implore all the stakeholders here to ensure the continued and total functionality of the inaugurated LGCFN.”
The newly inaugurated LGCFN is saddled with the responsibility of reaching women and other vulnerable groups at the grassroots with information on the importance of adequate nutrition. They would also ensure that the representatives of relevant sectors on the committee undertake the effective implementation of their various policies and programs, ensure continuous advocacy for food and nutrition issues as well as manage a database of nutrition activities at the LGA level.
Key next steps for the Orile LGCFN includes, advocacy visits to relevant stakeholders for funding and creation of nutrition budget lines, quarterly meetings to develop LGCFN programmes for 2023, consultative meetings with the Ward Development Committees in Orile Agege LGA among others.