By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
In response to the increasing levels of malnutrition and poverty in Northeastern Nigeria, the USAID-funded Feed the Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity aims to combat malnutrition and boost the region’s economic well-being through sustainable local business models.
The five-year USAID-funded Activity is being implemented by Mercy Corps, with support from the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and Save the Children, across the states of Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, and Yobe in Northeast Nigeria. The goal is to facilitate economic recovery and growth in vulnerable, conflict-affected areas, by promoting market systems development. Through evidence-based interventions, the Activity will strengthen resilience capacities by using market-led approaches and sustainably move over 600,000 individuals out of chronic vulnerability and poverty.
In a press release from the implementing partner, Mercy Corps, citing the Gombe state costed multi-sectoral plan of action for food and nutrition (GSMPFAN) 2023 – 2027, malnutrition remains a significant issue in Northeast Nigeria, worsened by the ongoing conflicts, population displacement, food insecurity, increasing inflation rate, and limited access to healthcare facilities.
It further stated that the region has struggled with one of the highest rates of acute malnutrition globally, impacting millions of children, including severe acute malnutrition cases. The situation is further exacerbated by conflict-related disruptions in agriculture, limiting food production and access to nutritious meals.
Responding to this crisis, Mercy Corps is organizing a Roundtable Discussion, titled “Addressing Malnutrition through Nutrition-Sensitive Businesses in Northeast Nigeria,” to be held on September 28, 2023, in Gombe state.
The event aims to bring together key actors and stakeholders with a view to seeking innovative solutions that leverage partnerships between the private and public sectors. These solutions include increasing access to improved bio-fortified seeds, backward integration, and commercialization of nutrition-dense foods.
The Roundtable Discussion will also serve as a platform for nutrition stakeholders and actors to facilitate investable nutrition business models by private sector players, promoting sustainable and scalable approaches to combat malnutrition in Northeast Nigeria, among other things.
The event will also foster collaboration and partnerships among stakeholders, enhancing collective efforts to effectively address the impact of malnutrition through commercially viable and scalable nutrition-sensitive business models that work for the Activity.
Additional areas of emphasis involve identifying shared challenges, sharing lessons learned, exploring possibilities for expanding effective nutrition business models and strategies, and collaboratively developing a plan for investment, ongoing cooperation, knowledge sharing, and joint ventures among private sector participants.
The event will bring together a diverse range of participants, including private sector entities and businesses specializing in the manufacturing and production of nutrition-dense foods, financial service institutions and agribusiness service providers, and relevant Government agencies (NAFDAC, SON, SMEDAN).
Other expected participants are food processors and implementing partners, representatives from seed companies and the representative of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
In line with global best practices, the event will also be an avenue to promote the inclusion of women, youth, and other vulnerable groups in nutrition initiatives.