By Mercy Sawok
Stakeholders have called for stronger youth participation in nutrition advocacy and policymaking to translate community priorities into measurable action against malnutrition across Nigeria.
The call was made at the inception meeting of the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society (CS-SUNN) Youth Leaders for Nutrition (YL4N) Nigeria network, held virtually on Tuesday.
The meeting brought together youth advocates, civil society organisations, government representatives, academia, research networks and other stakeholders to discuss youth-led action on nutrition.
CS-SUNN Project Manager, Ridwan Awosanya, said the initiative was designed to move beyond previous advocacy gains by translating nutrition efforts into measurable outcomes at national, subnational and community levels.
Awosanya said the Youth Leaders for Nutrition project would connect grassroots nutrition priorities with decision-makers through evidence-based advocacy.
He identified capacity building, youth-led community dialogues, evidence documentation and presentation of recommendations to policymakers as key stages of the implementation process.
He said youth leaders would receive practical skills in dialogue facilitation, advocacy, safeguarding and reporting to identify local nutrition priorities and develop actionable policy recommendations.
According to him, the project is being expanded to 10 locations: Cross River, FCT, Enugu, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Oyo, Bauchi, Lagos, Ebonyi and Kano.
He said the initiative would also promote meaningful youth participation in Civil Society Alliance governance and nutrition decision-making.
Mrs Olufunmilola Adegbite, Director and Head of the Nutrition Department, Federal Ministry of Health, expressed the ministry’s readiness to collaborate with the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Youth Movement.
Adegbite said the collaboration would support nutrition improvement across sectors, including health, agriculture, education, social protection and water, sanitation and hygiene.
Also, Jessica Bartholomew, Chairperson, Steering Committee, CS-SUNN, described young people as critical drivers of change who must be integrated into policymaking processes.
She said the initiative would help build a responsive and accountable alliance through inclusive policy engagement and evidence-based action.
Prof. Kola Anigo, National Coordinator, Academic and Research Network for Scaling Up Nutrition (ARN-SUNN), emphasised the importance of a whole-of-society approach to tackling malnutrition.
Anigo said government, academia, researchers and young people should work as active partners rather than treating youths merely as beneficiaries of nutrition interventions.
He pledged the network’s support in research, evidence generation, capacity strengthening and mentorship to ensure youth participation was informed by credible evidence.
Sean Counihan, Senior Advocacy and Youth Adviser, Global SUN Civil Society Network Secretariat, described Nigeria’s approach to youth engagement as a model with lessons for other countries.
Counihan said Nigeria was demonstrating a shift from confrontational advocacy to a more collaborative relationship between young people and government.
He said the project’s success would depend on an enabling environment where civil society, academia and the private sector supported youth leadership.
He added that lessons from Nigeria were being shared globally to encourage other countries to replicate the localisation approach.
The meeting also emphasised the need for stakeholders to provide continuous guidance, mentorship, information, networks and policy opportunities to emerging youth advocates.
Participants were encouraged to create institutional spaces for young people to contribute meaningfully to nutrition discussions across sectors.
Expected outcomes include better-equipped youth leaders, generation of locally relevant nutrition evidence through community dialogues and stronger youth participation in civil society structures.
The initiative also seeks to translate community findings into clear advocacy demands capable of influencing nutrition policies and programmes.
A youth participant from Kano, Mr Salmanu, appreciated the support provided to young people to strengthen their advocacy skills.
Another participant, Khadijat Abdulrahman, commended the organisers for involving youths in major campaigns and providing opportunities for growth.
The organisers said sustained collaboration among youth networks, CS-SUNN, government nutrition structures, academia, the SUN Business Network, communities, civil society organisations and development partners would be critical to scaling up youth-led nutrition advocacy nationwide.(NAN)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru