The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to boost access to safe and nutritious foods for Abuja residents.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Abuja on Tuesday, Michael Ojo, Nigeria’s country director, GAIN, explained that the MOU was aimed at fostering a healthier food environment, reducing malnutrition and promoting sustainable food systems to improve food security.
He said, “Today’s MOU signing is a critical step towards achieving our shared vision of ensuring that all Nigerians, particularly the most vulnerable have access to safe and nutritious diets. Together with the FCTA, we will work to build a food system that promotes health and prosperity for everyone in FCT.
“This is an opportunity to put some structure behind the partnership that we already have with the FCT and it’s important because, for things to work, we need to ensure that there’s political commitment to the work we are doing together. And this is an indication from the FCTA administration of that political commitment. So, we’re looking forward to building on this MOU.
“It’s a three-year MOU, and it sets out a common goal between us and the FCT administration. It’s about working with the administration to improve health and nutrition, but also to tackle food insecurity within the FCTA area.
“We will be doing a number of things, including building capacity of FCTA staff, working with them to design projects and programs, and implement those programs in the FCT which will be targeting specific areas of malnutrition.”
He noted that access to nutritious foods represented a major component of the multi-dimensional poverty in the FCT, according to the National Bureau of Statistics report.
“So, I think it’s appropriate that we are looking at this as a major problem that we support the FCTA administration to deal with. And if we can design programmes and projects that tackle some of the underlying causes of this malnutrition, then we hope to see the health status of FCTA residents improve over time,” he said.
Ubokutom Nyah, FCTA mandate secretary, economic planning, revenue generation & public-private partnership, said that the MOU was expected to pave the way for various interventions that will have long-term benefits for the health and well-being of FCT residents.
“Our joint efforts will contribute to the Federal government’s broader goals of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to zero hunger, good health and economic growth,” he said.
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For Chidi Amadi, the chief of staff to the FCT minister, there was no better time to have these collaborative efforts than now, as he decried the increasing challenge of malnutrition and hunger in Nigeria.
“And so, we cannot overemphasise the significance of this. For the minister, he is a servant that is more committed to results. For what he has done in the past couple of months or the past one year, it is all result-oriented. And he has asked me to also join you and your team to ensure that what we are doing this morning is not just a mere show.
“That the collaborative effort that we have so far formally endorsed in this MOU will translate into useful results, useful dividends that will reflect on the lives of the residents of FCT, especially in our area councils, not just within the municipal, but in our area councils,” he said.
