CS-SUNN Mobilises Media to Strengthen Nutrition Financing Advocacy

The Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has called for stronger media engagement to promote accountability and sustained advocacy for domestic nutrition financing in Nigeria.

The Kano State Coordinator of CS-SUNN, Salman Mohammad, made the call during a media parley on domestic nutrition financing and the official launch and dissemination of the Strategic Media Engagement Package in Kano.

Mohammad said the engagement was designed to strengthen collaboration between the organisation and media practitioners to ensure that issues relating to nutrition financing received adequate attention from policymakers.

He welcomed participating media organisations and expressed optimism that the initiative would contribute to improving nutrition outcomes in Kano State.

He commended the Kano State Government for supporting the activities of CS-SUNN towards achieving its objectives.

Mohammad stressed the need for timely release of funds allocated to nutrition programmes, adding that effective collaboration with the media would help communicate critical nutrition issues to policymakers and other relevant stakeholders.

In her remarks, the Senior Communications Officer of CS-SUNN, Lilian Okafor, said the media parley was organised to mobilise media organisations as strategic partners in promoting accountability in nutrition financing.

Okafor said the engagement would also support the development and dissemination of strategic communication resources to sustain advocacy for increased domestic financing of nutrition programmes.

The Programme Manager of CS-SUNN, Ridwan Awosanye, presented a paper titled, “Understanding Nigeria’s Domestic Nutrition Financing Landscape,” highlighting policies adopted by some states to improve maternal and child welfare.

He cited the implementation of six months’ paid maternity leave in Bauchi, Niger, Nasarawa and Kaduna states as examples of policy measures supporting maternal and child health.

The engagement brought together media practitioners and other stakeholders to explore ways of strengthening public awareness, promoting accountability and ensuring that nutrition financing remained a priority in government policies and programmes.