C'River SPC Moves to Strengthen Nutrition Financing Through Budget Advocacy

By Egbe Iloke

In a bid to track Nutrition budget and increase fund allocated for nutrition programmes across the State, the State Committee on Food and Nutrition in Collaboration with CS-SUNN has intensified advocacy efforts with the State Budget Office to track Nutrition Budget, releases and fund allocation for nutrition interventions. The advocacy visit held at the Budget Office in Calabar, led by the State Nutrition Officer (SNO) Mrs Nkem Eyong Ubana who also doubles as the State Coordinator for CS-SUNN as part of their mandate.

In the engagement, the Nutrition Office called on the Budget Office to ensure nutrition budgets are tagged and collaborate with the team to ensure tracking of budget allocations and releases for nutrition activities across Nutrition Line Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). The team also appealed for adequate budgetary consideration for nutrition-focused MDAs in the ongoing revised State budget to ensure improved financing of critical nutrition interventions.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Budget Office Dr. Peter Uklala reaffirmed the commitment of the Cross River State Government to improving nutrition outcomes, noting that Governor Bassey Otu remains committed to supporting nutrition programmes across the State. He assured the delegation that efforts would be made to increase budgetary allocations for nutrition in subsequent fiscal years.

He advised that the Nutrition Annual Operational Plan (AOP) should be submitted much earlier during the budget preparation cycle to facilitate effective planning, budget capture, and tracking of nutrition activities, and requested the prompt submission of a comprehensive nutrition budget proposal for consideration in the revised State budget.

The advocacy team also conducted a budget tracking exercise, which revealed that some Ministries, Departments and Agencies had received approvals and funding under the nutrition budget line for activities that were not captured in the approved Nutrition Annual Operational Plan. 

According to the SNO, the development undermines accountability, weakens effective monitoring of nutrition investments, and reduces the overall impact of public expenditure on nutrition programmes. To address the identified gaps, both parties agreed that representatives of the Budget Office would participate in future Nutrition Annual Operational Plan development processes.The move is expected to improve coordination, enhance budget accuracy, and ensure better alignment between approved nutrition plans and Government spending. 

The Budget Office also disclosed that while Government policy does not permit the creation of new budget line items during budget revisions, allocations can still be increased under existing budget lines. It noted that the State Planning Commission currently has the only approved memo for nutrition activities in the 2026 fiscal year.

The advocacy meeting concluded with renewed commitments from both the State Nutrition Office and the Budget Office to strengthen collaboration, improve nutrition financing, and ensure that future budgets provide greater support for programmes aimed at improving the nutritional well-being of citizens across Cross River State. 

Speaking further, the State Coordinator for CS-SUNN informed that the significance of the budget tracking is to ensure that the goodwill of the Governor, His Excellency Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, to the people of the State through nutrition interventions are properly captured and reported as a way of appreciating the efforts and support of the Governor, which has made Cross River State a leading State in Nigeria with the best policy strategy and proactiveness.

Adding his voice, the Director of Budget at the Budget Office, Mr. Ekure Ekanem, also asserted that Staff of the office are ready to support nutrition programmes as it is a policy of Government, but it must follow due process to avoid embarrassment which will affect Government efforts aimed at stabilizing the gains recorded through hard work. In attendance were stakeholders from the nutrition ecosystem, including other chapter members of CS-SUNN, Directors and Heads of Departments from the State Budget Office.