The federal government has inaugurated a National Advisory Committee on Micronutrient Deficiency and Control in an intensified move to tackle micronutrient deficiency in Nigeria.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, speaking at the 2025 National Micronutrient Conference in Abuja during the weekend, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is determined to move from fragmented nutrition initiatives to a synchronised, evidence-based national response that guarantees adequate nutrition for Nigerians, especially women, children, and vulnerable groups.
The conference, themed “Strengthening Resilient Systems for Addressing Micronutrient Deficiencies in Nigeria,” brought together key stakeholders from health, agriculture, development partners, civil society, academia and sub-national actors to chart a renewed pathway in addressing what Prof. Pate described as “a silent but devastating threat to human capital and national productivity”.
He warned that recent national surveys reveal persistent anaemia, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, as well as unacceptable levels of child malnutrition across the country, saying: “We must now translate evidence into action. The talk is cheap; what matters is what we do from here.”
The minister stressing that the federal government is scaling up food fortification, dietary diversification, micronutrient supplementation and strengthening the primary healthcare platform to reach underserved communities.
According to him, the government has mobilised millions of multiple micronutrient supplement doses for pregnant women, strengthened health workforce capacity, expanded nutrition services through the World Bank-supported Accelerating Results in Nigeria (ARIN) project, and institutionalised nutrition demonstration corners in health facilities nationwide.
The newly inaugurated advisory committee, he explained, will serve as a multi-sectoral platform to monitor implementation, advise government on priority actions, and close existing gaps using national evidence, including the Micronutrient Survey and the Demographic and Health Survey.
Prof. Pate called for increased funding from federal, state, and local governments in the 2026 budget cycle and urged households, communities, and civil society to complement government efforts. “Nigeria has no business with hunger and malnutrition. This requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach,” he said.
Also speaking, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, described micronutrient deficiency as an “invisible crisis with visible consequences,” noting that stunting among children under five remains at 40%, wasting at 8%, and underweight at 27%, according to the 2024 Demographic and Health Survey. He called for urgent, sustained, and inclusive action aligned with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the conference marked a renewed national momentum to address “hidden hunger” through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that tackling malnutrition will improve health outcomes, education, productivity and national prosperity.
