At the inauguration of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the National Assembly’s summit on nutrition and food security in Abuja, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, emphasized that the escalating crisis of malnutrition and food insecurity poses serious threats to Nigeria’s economic stability, public health, and community resilience.
Urgency for Legislative Action
Represented by Deputy Speaker Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Abbas pointed out that Nigeria has one of the highest malnutrition rates in sub-Saharan Africa, affecting citizens across all age groups. He highlighted the detrimental effects of malnutrition, particularly among children, which hinder physical and cognitive development, ultimately impairing long-term educational and economic potential. This situation contributes to broader societal challenges.
Abbas expressed the House’s commitment to supporting the committee’s initiatives, urging collaboration with State Houses of Assembly to establish a unified strategy for addressing food insecurity. “The need for this National Summit on Nutrition and Food Security has never been more urgent,” he stated. He stressed the importance of fostering collaboration across various ministries and engaging both public and private sectors to tackle the root causes of food security challenges.
Humanitarian Crisis in Northern Nigeria
Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Chike Okafor, also addressed the assembly, highlighting the alarming rates of malnutrition, particularly in northern Nigeria, where severe malnutrition among children has increased by 51%. He described this as a humanitarian crisis worsened by recent floods in Adamawa, Maiduguri, and Jigawa, which disrupted food supplies nationwide.
Okafor underscored the significance of the summit in developing policies to combat food insecurity and emphasized the LOC’s crucial role in organizing the summit to engage stakeholders in the nutrition and food security sectors.