Nigeria and Ethiopia have agreed to deepen cooperation in nutrition, food security, agriculture, trade, investment and other areas of mutual interest.
The commitment was made during a Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange Forum held on Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where officials from both countries discussed strategies to tackle malnutrition and strengthen food and nutrition systems.
Speaking at the forum, Vice President Kashim Shettima said Nigeria would accelerate efforts to develop a National Food and Nutrition Bill to protect nutrition financing, strengthen accountability and ensure continuity of interventions across successive administrations.
He said the proposed legislation would strengthen the Federal Government’s Nutrition 774 Initiative and promote greater coordination among the federal, state and local governments.
“We are convinced that, with nutrition committees in 32 state assemblies, there is no better time for us to accelerate the development of a National Food and Nutrition Bill and the advancement of a federal, state and local compact to protect financing and enforce accountability beyond administrations,” Shettima said.
The Vice President said nutrition committees had also been established in more than 450 local governments, describing local councils as critical to planning, financing and accountability in the fight against malnutrition.
“Each council, being the lowest tier of our system, is our unit of planning, financing and accountability,” he said.
Shettima disclosed that Nigeria’s $26 million commitment to the Child Nutrition Fund had attracted matching support, effectively unlocking $52 million for nutrition interventions.
He added that 21 states had contributed $6.3 million since 2023 towards supplies for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition.
“We can only claim that our budget fulfils its purpose when it nourishes a child,” Shettima said, stressing the need to link public spending to measurable nutrition outcomes.
He noted that about 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five were affected by stunting, while undernutrition was estimated to cost the country $56 billion annually.
“We act to protect learning. We act to preserve earnings. We act to project productivity,” the Vice President said.
Shettima also said the government was engaging the private sector, including food vendors, manufacturers, small and medium-sized enterprises, financiers and regulators, to improve the availability and affordability of nutritious food.
He said Nigeria was also working with industry stakeholders to strengthen compliance with food fortification requirements for salt, flour, edible oil and sugar.
Earlier, Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Temesgen Tiruneh, said the longstanding relationship between Nigeria and Ethiopia could help shape Africa’s development trajectory.
Tiruneh said Ethiopia had placed food and nutrition at the centre of its development agenda and welcomed Nigeria’s interest in learning from the country’s experience.
“Improving nutrition requires sustained political leadership, financing and accountability at every level of government, backed by systems that track implementation and results,” he said.
He disclosed that more than 100,000 children in Ethiopia had been protected from malnutrition through community mobilisation and improvements in the nutritional value of food.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr Mekdes Daba, said the exchange was focused on addressing child malnutrition, highlighting Ethiopia’s Seqota Declaration, which is aimed at ending child stunting by 2030.
“Stunting affects far more than a child’s physical growth. Poor nutrition can limit brain development, weaken school performance, reduce future earnings and slow national economic progress,” Daba said.
“Investing in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life is among the most important investments a country can make.”
Meanwhile, Shettima and Tiruneh held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the forum to review relations between Nigeria and Ethiopia and explore opportunities for greater cooperation in trade, investment, food security, aviation and security.
Tiruneh also conveyed Ethiopia’s condolences to Nigeria over the recent Ondo air crash and called for the convening of the Nigeria-Ethiopia Joint Commission.
He welcomed progress on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement between both countries and commended growing private-sector cooperation, including investments by the Dangote Group in Ethiopia.
In response, Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Ethiopia, stressing the need for both countries to leverage their populations, resources and strategic positions to contribute to Africa’s development.
He also called for stronger intra-African investment under the African Continental Free Trade Area and identified agriculture, investment, economic development and security as areas requiring closer collaboration.
“Nigeria and Ethiopia owe Africa an example worthy of its children,” Shettima said.