The Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria CS-SUNN, Kaduna State Chapter, has called on the Kaduna State House of Assembly to strengthen legislative oversight to improve nutrition financing, budget accountability and implementation of nutrition programmes across relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The appeal formed part of an executive advocacy visit by the organisation to the Kaduna State House of Assembly Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, where stakeholders reviewed the state’s nutrition financing and implementation performance.
Presenting the advocacy brief, the Kaduna State Advocacy Team lead CS-SUNN, Mr Stephen Odawun, said the review of the 2025 and 2026 nutrition budgets revealed gaps between approved allocations, actual releases and utilisation of funds.
He noted that several key MDAs recorded zero releases despite budgetary provisions.
According to him, only about ₦205 million, representing approximately 12 percent of the approved nutrition allocation for the assessed MDAs in 2026, had been released at the time of the review.
He warned that the funding gap was slowing the implementation of life-saving nutrition interventions, particularly those targeting women, children and other vulnerable groups.
Mr Stephen Odawun explained that beyond advocacy, CS-SUNN has continued to support Kaduna State through budget tracking, capacity building and technical assistance on nutrition data management.
He said the organisation trained relevant stakeholders on uploading data to the nutrition dashboard, an open platform that allows the public and development partners to monitor the state’s nutrition performance.
Also speaking the kaduna state coordinator Mrs Celestina Ayim stressed that stronger collaboration between government institutions and civil society organisations would help improve nutrition outcome across the state.
She urged the House Committee to conduct regular oversight hearings, request quarterly implementation reports from MDAs, ensure timely release of approved nutrition funds and prioritise nutrition in government planning and budgeting.
Responding, the Chairman of the Kaduna State House of Assembly Committee on Nutrition and Food Security and Member representing Chikun Constituency, Jesse, described the committee as one of the smallest in the Assembly but with the broadest mandates.
According to him, Kaduna State remains among the leading states implementing the committee’s mandate through collaboration with relevant government agencies and development partners.
The lawmaker assured stakeholders that the legislature would continue to discharge its constitutional responsibilities of approving budgets, passing appropriation laws and carrying out oversight to ensure proper implementation by the executive.
Fatima Aliyu
