The Oyo State Government has inaugurated Local Government Committees on Food and Nutrition across 20 local government areas as part of efforts to address malnutrition and reduce the rate of stunting among children and vulnerable residents in the state.
The initiative was highlighted at the end of a two-day inception meeting held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The programme was organised by the Oyo State Government with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and the United States government.
Speaking during the meeting, UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Lagos Field Office, Oluniyi Oyedokun, explained that the N774 initiative would strengthen nutrition delivery at the grassroots by ensuring that local governments dedicate resources to nutrition-related interventions.
Oyedokun urged local government chairmen to prioritise nutrition funding, revealing that some councils in other states had already institutionalised monthly allocations for nutrition programmes.
“The local government chairmen and chairmen of nutrition committees have unlocked resources for nutrition. Some local government chairmen signed funding orders of one million naira every month for nutrition, while others approved N500,000 monthly,” he said.
According to him, such funding arrangements ensure that nutrition programmes receive consistent support before allocations are disbursed to local governments.
“It is something that has worked in many states. Every month, the allocation is adopted, and the money is earmarked specifically for nutrition,” Oyedokun added.
He also called on state lawmakers to channel constituency project funds toward nutrition interventions, citing examples from other states where lawmakers committed substantial amounts annually to nutrition supplies and programmes.
“One of the states committed five million naira initially from constituency project funds, and by the second year it increased to 10 million naira per member annually,” he explained.
“With about 30 constituencies, that translated into nearly 300 million naira used to procure nutrition supplies. There are many ways to mobilise resources for nutrition.”
Oyedokun further stressed the importance of integrating nutrition programmes with social protection initiatives to effectively reach vulnerable households.
“You know the vulnerable families. If you do not know them, the social safety office in the state has their details across local governments. We must plan together and ensure interventions reach them,” he said.
Stakeholders at the meeting were also urged to redesign strategies aimed at improving nutrition awareness and support systems among vulnerable groups within their council areas.
Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Julius Ayanleke, charged local government chairmen to ensure active participation of committee members and provide steady funding for nutrition activities.
“There is need for chairmen to ensure that all members are brought on board and duly informed so that the committee can start work in earnest,” Ayanleke said.
“We also appeal to local government chairmen to ensure that committed funds are released monthly. No amount is too small, it can be one million, two million or five million naira, so that the committees can implement their activities effectively.”
Ayanleke noted that the state had already developed a five-year multi-sectoral plan of action for food and nutrition, which would serve as a framework for activities at the local government level.
“We expect the local governments to draw their activities from this plan through annual action plans. This will guide their activities throughout the year,” he stated.
He added that monitoring and accountability mechanisms had also been introduced through reporting templates that would require committees to provide quarterly updates on completed and proposed activities.
The reporting template is expected to help committees report what they have done in the last quarter and what they intend to do in the next quarter.
