NATIONAL POLICY ON FOOD AND NUTRITION

A Policy coordinates food production, nutrition education, and social protection to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in Nigeria. It targets children under five, pregnant women, and food-insecure households with specific interventions. This seeks to improve overall food security and health outcomes.

What Is This Policy?

The National Policy on Food and Nutrition is Nigeria's cross-sectoral framework for eliminating hunger, malnutrition, and micronutrient deficiency. It coordinates food production, nutrition education, healthcare, and social protection to improve the dietary status and food security of all Nigerians, with particular focus on women, infants, and children under five.

Who Does It Target?

Children under five, who face a stunting rate of 37% and wasting rate of 7% in Nigeria Pregnant and lactating women with heightened nutritional vulnerability Adolescent girls in rural and peri-urban areas at risk of anaemia and undernutrition Households in food-insecure states, particularly in the North-West, North-East, and North-Central zones Smallholder farmers producing staple and nutritious foods

What Does It Aim to Achieve?

Achieve the WHO 2025 Global Nutrition Targets: 40% reduction in child stunting, 50% reduction in anaemia in women of reproductive age, zero increase in overweight children End all forms of malnutrition in Nigeria by 2030 in line with SDG 2 Integrate nutrition into agriculture, health, education, water and social protection policies to address root causes Promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, currently practised by only 29% of Nigerian mothers

Key Features

Multi-Sector Coordination: Policy is jointly owned by FMARD and FMOH, with formal nutrition coordination structures at federal, state, and LGA levels Community-Based Nutrition: Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) and Community Infant and Young Child Feeding (C-IYCF) programmes at PHC level Food Fortification Mandate: Mandatory fortification of staple foods: salt (iodine), wheat flour (iron, folic acid), edible oil (vitamin A), and sugar (vitamin A) Nutrition Surveillance: National Nutrition Survey conducted every three to five years to track population nutritional status and programme impact School Feeding Integration: The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) is the primary school nutrition vehicle, providing one nutritious meal daily to 10.2 million pupils Social Protection Link: Conditional cash transfers under the National Social Safety Nets Programme (NASSP) tied to nutrition outcomes for extreme poor households

Current Status

Rollout Stage: Active; a third revision is underway to reflect the 2023 food security crisis and updated global nutrition targets Implementing Bodies: National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NFAC); FMARD; FMOH; FMOE; NPopC; UNICEF Nutrition Crisis: 18.6 million Nigerians faced acute food insecurity in 2023 (IPC Phase 3 and above); North-East remains most severely affected Funding: FGN budget, UNICEF, WHO, World Food Programme (WFP), EU, USAID, and bilateral nutrition donors

How to Access

Households: Access nutrition services, micronutrient supplementation, and growth monitoring at your nearest PHC facility Mothers and Caregivers: Attend Community Infant and Young Child Feeding counselling sessions at PHC centres; enrol in the NHGSFP through your child's school Farmers: Work with FMARD extension officers to incorporate nutritious, biofortified crops into production plans Contact: FMARD: fmard.gov.ng | FMOH: health.gov.ng | UNICEF Nigeria Nutrition: unicef.org/nigeria

Impact & Metrics

Child stunting declined from 43% (2008) to 37% (2021), still one of the highest rates in Africa National Home Grown School Feeding Programme serves 10.2 million primary school pupils daily across 29 states

Official Resources

Website: fmard.gov.ng | health.gov.ng | unicef.org/nigeria/nutrition Contact: Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Area 11, Garki, Abuja | Federal Ministry of Health, Phase III Secretariat, Abuja Policy Summary | Source: FMARD, FMOH, UNICEF Nigeria, WHO Nigeria, World Bank Nigeria Food Security 2023, FAO SOFI Report | February 2026

Legal Framework

The National Policy on Food and Nutrition operates under the National Agricultural Policy, the National Health Act 2014, and the National Food Security Act. It aligns with the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act 2004 (school feeding component), the NAFDAC Act on food safety standards, and Nigeria's obligations under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2 — Zero Hunger) and the Codex Alimentarius international food standards.