Nigeria’s 36 state governors say they’ll establish a National Nutrition Intervention Fund to support the Nutrition 774 Initiative in every local government area. The proposal puts state leaders at the center of a national response to hunger and malnutrition. Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal announced it in a statement issued by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to Vice President Kashim Shettima on Media and Communications.
“This massive mobilisation will establish a powerful National Nutrition Intervention Fund to instantly advance Nigeria's ambitious Nutrition 774 Initiative across every single local government area in Nigeria,” Lawal said. The fund remains a proposal, not money already distributed. The announcement gave no funding amount.
Governors Set the Terms
Lawal announced the proposal in Ethiopia as he read the NGF-Addis Ababa Commitment on Nutrition. He said the fund would incentivise state-level leadership, encourage more domestic investment, reward effective implementation and support measurable improvements in nutrition outcomes. Governors, he said, had resolved to “declare war on hunger” by launching a nationwide nutrition emergency.
The pledge followed a three-day Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange. A Nigerian delegation led by Vice President Kashim Shettima studied Ethiopia’s nutrition delivery, including its Seqota Declaration. Lawal called the effort “From lessons to commitment: Accelerating Implementation of the Nutrition 774 Initiative.”
He said governors pledged to strengthen domestic financing, deepen accountability at the grassroots and create a unified framework for nutrition planning and budgeting. The plan’s public language centers on political leadership, coordination and government ownership. Communities appear as necessary participants, but the account describes no community-led effort or mutual-aid program.
The three tiers of government signed the Nutrition Compact on 20 February 2025, creating what the article describes as a common commitment to tackle malnutrition. The NGF chairman signed for the 36 states, while the President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) signed for the 774 local governments. The framework reaches local areas. Governors and federal officials remain the announcement’s decision-makers.
Two States First
Muyi Aina, Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said the federal government would begin targeted nutrition interventions in two states. The federal team will choose them based on their stunting burden, set objectives and design multisectoral interventions for their needs.
Relevant ministers and federal agencies will work with governors and their teams to identify priorities and assign responsibilities to each tier of government. Officials will cost the plan, participating governments will work toward joint financing, and measurable indicators will track progress. “We will track very rigorously progress in the execution of the plan,” Aina said.
Aina said the delegation learned from Ethiopia’s agricultural transformation, early childhood development programmes and data-driven initiatives. He listed clear vision and leadership, alignment among the three tiers of government, evidence-based prioritisation, rigorous measurement and disciplined execution as conditions for sustainable results. The announcement names no sum or specific schedule for the proposed two-state plan.
Accountability Through the Official Channels
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Muhammad Pate said the exchange offered lessons on turning political commitments into practical action and measurable nutrition outcomes. He named focused sectoral action, an implementation roadmap, performance matrices and accountability as critical to accelerating Nigeria’s response.
Pate said the federal government would work with states to turn the commitments into interventions, with progress reported to the vice president through the National Council on Nutrition. Federal and state governments, communities and development partners would all be needed for sustainable results, he said. The account identifies no direct action organized by communities; the route from promise to implementation runs through government agencies, governors and official reporting structures.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Mekdes Daba, commended Nigeria’s commitment and called the exchange an example of African countries learning from one another. She described the Nutrition 774 Initiative as a significant national commitment. For now, officials have committed to building a fund and designing interventions, while people facing malnutrition appear in the plan but aren’t quoted in the account.