The World Bank has announced its approval of a $50 million fund to help Nigeria tackle its urgent nutrition problems through the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) Project 2.0. This project is part of the World Bank’s plan to respond to crises and aims to improve nutrition for vulnerable groups across Nigeria.
Ndiame Diop, World Bank country Director, made this announcement during a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Diop pointed out that the Nigerian government’s support for nutrition is crucial, especially the $50 million set aside for the ANRiN 2.0 program, which is meant to help during crises.
Trina Haque, World Bank Practice Manager for Health, Nutrition, and Population, emphasised the importance of teaching children and teenagers about nutrition, as it is very important for their early development. Haque called for more efforts to educate people about nutrition to prevent malnutrition from happening in the first place.
Vice President Shettima introduced Nigeria’s N-774 Initiative, a program aimed at providing nutrition help directly to the country’s 774 local government areas. This initiative builds on the success of the ANRiN project and aims to create a strong plan for long-term benefits by working across key sectors:
- Education
- Agriculture
- Health
- Social Protection