The Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria, (CS-SUNN), has trained officials of Nasarawa State Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on digital tools for tracking nutrition budget allocations, releases, and utilisation.
The two-day capacity-building workshop, held in Lafia on Thursday, aimed to strengthen transparency and accountability in the state’s nutrition spending ahead of the 2027 budget cycle.
Speaking at the opening, CS-SUNN State Coordinator, Mr Aboki Jonah, said digital tracking would help stakeholders monitor if funds budgeted for nutrition actually reach targeted persons and reduce malnutrition.
The State Coordinator further said that the training was to equip the MDAs with the required skills of smart memo writing to ensure that the budget for nutrition is included in their MDAs.
“Nutrition budgets are often hidden under broad health or agriculture lines. Digital tools now allow us to tag, track releases, and monitor expenditure in real time. This is how we ensure no child is left behind,” he said.
Jonah appreciated the state government for the increase in the amount allocated for the nutrition budget over the last few years, but lamented inadequate and untimely releases of funds to tackle malnutrition.
Also, Hope Ikani, Program Officer of CS-SUNN said that the training was aimed at equipping the participants with the new digital budget tracking system to enable them to track the performance of funds allocated for nutrition in the various MDAs.
The Program Officer noted that the participants would now be able to track nutrition budget allocations, releases, and utilisation digitally to ensure that the funds reach targeted persons thereby reducing malnutrition in the state.
She also commended the Nasarawa State Government for increasing the allocations for nutrition intervention in the 2026 budget and called on the state government to do better in the 2027 budget.
Isa Abdul-Osama, Director of Planning,
Ministry of Budget and Planning, and State Coordinating Director for Food and Nutrition, commended CS-SUNN for the initiative to complement the effort of the government towards tackling malnutrition.
He further explained that as implementers of the budget, CS-SUNN reminded them of the need to ensure timely approvals and release of funds to nutrition line MDAs with a view to tackling malnutrition.
“We can no longer afford to budget without tracking impact. With these tools, Nasarawa can become a model for nutrition accountability,” he stated.
Participants were drawn from the Ministries of Health, Budget and Planning, Agriculture, Water Resources, Women Affairs, media and over 15 CSOs among others. (NAN).