Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River has announced that his administration is allocating a matching fund of N100 million to enhance food and nutrition interventions within the state.
This announcement was made during the inauguration of the Cross River Strategic Action Plan on Food and Nutrition in Calabar on Friday.
With Deputy Governor Peter Odey representing him, Governor Otu expressed his commitment to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to realize the objectives of the action plan.
He emphasized that the action plan will focus on sustainable agricultural investments to secure food and nutrition for the state.
Governor Otu also highlighted that this initiative is expected to boost food production, ensuring its availability, accessibility, and affordability across the state.
Furthermore, he assured that the implementation of the plan will include measures to refine food harvesting, processing, and storage techniques to minimize post-harvest losses.
”This plan will also seek to reduce malnutrition among school-age children and to improve their learning, health, and nutrition status.
”I am the chairman of the planning commission, we shall vigorously drive this process of coordination, we are determined,” he noted.
Mr. Otu praised UNICEF and other partners for their efforts towards the implementation of the action plan.
In his address, Mr. Bong Duke, the Vice-chairman of the Planning Commission, stated that the core of the plan was to ensure a healthier citizenry.
Mr. Duke mentioned that the government was adopting a multi-sectoral strategy to combat malnutrition in the state.
Dr. Olusoji Akinleye, the Officer-in-charge at UNICEF Nigeria’s Enugu Field Office, commended the government for the inauguration of the nutrition policy.
She reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to ongoing collaboration with the state government to enhance the welfare of children and women in the state.
The occasion was attended by notable figures from various UN agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations.
