The Adamawa State government has released N300 million as a matching grant for the Child Nutrition Fund to intensify the fight against malnutrition across the state.
Speaking at the inauguration of the State Council on Nutrition under the Nutrition 774 Initiative, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri said his administration has consistently increased funding for nutrition programmes over the past six years.
Represented by Deputy Governor Professor Kaletapwa Farauta, Fintiri described malnutrition as a silent but devastating threat to the state’s human capital development. He warned that poor nutrition continues to undermine education, productivity, and long-term growth.
“Malnutrition is a silent calamity that impairs growth, learning, and cognitive ability,” the governor said. “It threatens our human capital and undermines development.”
Farauta reaffirmed the state’s commitment to improving child and maternal health through sustained budgetary support and innovative social programmes. She urged local government chairmen to take ownership of the Nutrition 774 Initiative in their respective councils, ensuring its success at the grassroots level.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health, Uju Vanstasia, who also serves as the Focal Person on Nutrition in the Office of the Vice President, described malnutrition as Nigeria’s “quietest but deadliest emergency.”
“Today, one in every three Nigerian children under five is stunted, and nearly half of all child deaths are linked to malnutrition,” she said. “This is not just a health issue; it is a national emergency hiding in plain sight.”
She emphasized that malnutrition transcends religion and ethnicity, representing a deep-rooted challenge of inequality and poverty that demands urgent, coordinated action.
Vanstasia noted that investing in nutrition offers high economic returns, stating, “For every one dollar invested in nutrition, we gain twenty-three dollars in economic returns — almost four times more than infrastructure investments.”
The initiative, supported by both federal and state governments, aims to scale up nutrition interventions, reduce stunting and wasting rates, and strengthen local responses to food insecurity.
