Shettima meets UNICEF on child nutrition programmes
Vice President Shettima met with a UNICEF delegation to discuss programmes aimed at strengthening the future of Nigerian children, including the Nutrition 774 Initiative.
Vice President Kashim Shettima met with a UNICEF delegation on July 18 to discuss programmes aimed at strengthening the future of Nigerian children. Key initiatives include the Nutrition 774 Initiative and the Renewed Hope Child Support Programme, emphasising the administration’s focus on human capital development.
The Nutrition 774 Initiative is designed to address malnutrition across all 774 local government areas in Nigeria. The Renewed Hope Child Support Programme focuses on providing comprehensive support to children, including healthcare, education and social protection. The meeting reflects the administration’s commitment to investing in Nigeria’s most valuable resource: its children.
The programmes come at a critical time. Nigeria has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world, with millions of children suffering from stunting and wasting. The government’s focus on human capital development is a recognition that Nigeria’s future depends on the health and education of its children.
This echoes the 2010s social protection programmes, which also aimed to address child malnutrition and poverty. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a recognition that investing in children is essential for long-term development.
The winners: Nigerian children, who stand to benefit from the programmes, and the Nigerian government, which can claim progress on human capital development. The losers: the Nigerian public, which has heard similar promises before, and the government, which must ensure the programmes are implemented effectively.
Bottom Line: Shettima met with UNICEF on child nutrition. The programmes are ambitious. The question is whether they will be implemented or remain on paper.