By Umar Faruk
Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria –June 18, 2026 (Series News Online) -Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria, CS-SUNN, in collaboration with UNICEF, has organized a one-day breakfast meeting with key stakeholders and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, in Kebbi State to fast-track the adoption of the Child Nutrition Fund, CNF, and full implementation of six-month paid maternity leave.
The meeting was held on Thursday at Jamvally Hotel in Birnin Kebbi. It brought together relevant MDAs and other nutrition stakeholders in the state to chart a way forward on the release of nutrition funds and the implementation of the six-month paid maternity leave policy.
In her welcome remarks, the Kebbi State Coordinator of CS-SUNN, Mrs. Rebecca Ezra Dikki, said the objective of the meeting was to assess the status of commitments towards the adoption and operationalisation of the Child Nutrition Fund.
“The objectives are to assess the status of commitments towards adoption and operationalisation of the Child Nutrition Fund, CNF. To reinforce commitments towards adequate and timely release of nutrition funds in the state. To identify bottlenecks and agree on accelerated actions to move from commitment to implementation,” Mrs. Dikki said.
She urged all stakeholders to make meaningful contributions that would lead to the timely release of child nutrition funds.
“I welcome each and every stakeholder to today’s meeting and urge you to make meaningful contributions and chart ways forward towards the release of child nutrition funds so as to make the future of our children better. I wish you happy deliberations. Thank you, you are all welcome,” she said.
The National Programme Manager of CS-SUNN, Mr. Ridwan Airosanya, told Series News Online that the meeting was aimed at sensitising relevant stakeholders in MDAs that work directly or indirectly on nutrition, especially those involved in funds release and budgeting.
“The breakfast meeting is about bringing to the notice of the state the problem facing nutrition in Kebbi State, as well as the extent and the prevalence of the problem, so that they can be inspired and encouraged to mobilise resources to address it. We are basically focusing on child nutrition funding, which is a matching funding mechanism by UNICEF. So if states key into this process, it doubles their investment,” Mr. Airosanya said.
He explained the benefit of the CNF model for the state government.
“If they are to invest two naira, they are now to invest one naira. This is not the first time we are meeting. It is a series of meetings we do on a yearly basis. We started this about two years ago on the CNF and paid maternity leave. Paid maternity leave, PML, has been passed into law, but we still need the funds to be released and sustained. That is the essence of our meeting here. Also, we are advocating for the release of funding so that our children will no longer be malnourished in Kebbi State,” he said.
Mr. Airosanya stressed the long-term benefits of investing in nutrition.
“We want to secure their future. We want to secure their health status. We want to secure a better future for them through improved quality of life. When their nutrition system is improved, they have better health and educational outcomes, and livelihood income levels are guaranteed for their future,” he added.
Also speaking, the UNICEF Nutrition Specialist in charge of Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states, Mrs. Fatuma Ajwang, said the meeting focused on advocacy for six-month paid maternity leave and financing for nutrition programmes.
“I am here to attend a stakeholders’ meeting on nutrition organised by CS-SUNN. The meeting is about six-month advocacy for paid maternity leave for women after childbirth and also financing for nutrition programmes,” Mrs. Ajwang said.
She described the six-month maternity leave as critical to child health.
“The six-month maternity leave payment is very important to all mothers because it gives them the opportunity to exclusively breastfeed their children up to six months. This has been recommended for a child to be healthy. The expectation is that a child should be breastfed up to six months. When mothers are given the opportunity to breastfeed their children for six months while staying at home and paying attention to breastfeeding, it will help the child to grow well and prevent malnutrition. We will have children reaching their potential and in future they will become useful citizens,” she said.
Mrs. Ajwang further emphasised the importance of sustained nutrition financing.
“Regarding financing, it is very important that nutrition financing is sustained because it is an investment worthy of doing. When children are not fed well, they cannot learn well. Education will be hampered. They will frequently fall sick and be admitted at health facilities. When they are not fed well, their brains will not grow to full potential. Then we will have future citizens who do not have their full potential to invest in and develop the country,” she stressed.
She described the two policy issues as crucial to Kebbi’s development agenda.
“These are two very important policies that have been discussed during the stakeholders’ breakfast meeting: the policy on paid maternity leave and the policy on nutrition financing. It was very engaging and I was very happy to be part of the meeting,” she said.
Other relevant stakeholders at the meeting also made contributions on the way forward for effective implementation and sustainability of the policies in the state.
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Nutrition