As part of efforts geared towards improving funding for nutrition commodities in Nasarawa State due to scarcity of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) identified as threat to the treatment of malnourished children, DGI in collaboration with the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health facilitated a 1-day stakeholders’ meeting to discuss strategies for promoting sustained financing for nutrition program in the state. The stakeholder’s engagement was organized as part of the implementation of the nutrition component of the Christian Aid-funded project – ‘Integrated Approach to Building Community Resilience in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nasarawa State’, which aims to expand access to nutrition and basic health services for the vulnerable and marginalized people in the target communities through sustainable financing mechanisms.

The I-day stakeholders’ meeting held on February 8^th 2024, was aimed at enlightening stakeholders on the status of nutrition programme in the state, identifying nutrition programme financing bottlenecks and charting a course of action for improved financing for nutrition.

The meeting was attended by key players in the nutrition ecosystem, which include donors, implementing partners, and stakeholders from the nutrition MDAs. Through presentations and plenary sessions, stakeholders and participants brainstormed and identified strategies for improved financing for nutrition, which includes earmarked funds from LGA allocation, philanthropic financing, donor financing, financing through health insurance, among other sources. An action plan towards harnessing the identified funding source was developed as the immediate output of the meeting. The session also stimulated conversations among stakeholders on the alternative measures and home-grown solutions to addressing severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in the face of scarce RUTF.

DGIF will further engage the State to implement the action plan developed during the workshop to ensure improved financing for nutrition in Nasarawa State.