Adamawa State Food and Nutrition Policy 2023-2027.

This Food and Nutrition Policy moves from the need to strengthen synergy among sectors and other initiatives of the government and partners to address the causes of malnutrition in the Adamawa State, ensuring food and nutrition security. The Policy also focuses on the commitment of the government to tackle poverty, to improve the nutritional status of the population, and thus to enhance the overall well-being of the people. The Policy covers the following topics: food availability, accessibility and utilisation of food; food safety and quality; post-harvest management; optimal nutrition security at all levels of society; improvement of agro-ecological zones and livelihoods, as well as dealing with recurring emergencies and matters that pose challenges to food and nutrition security such as land degradation, desertification, and other natural and human hazards; health system and diseases; promotion of good nutrition practices. The Policy is inspired by the following guiding principles: prioritisation of poverty reduction; recognition of adequate food and nutrition as a human right and adopting a rights-based approach to planning, budgeting and implementation of the Policy; gender considerations and taking care of the needs of all vulnerable groups; recognition of multi-sectoral and cross-cutting nature of food and nutrition; incorporating food and nutrition considerations into development plans; reducing malnutrition through scaling up nutrition activities with high-impact and low-cost interventions; establishment of a food bank focused on solving the problem of hunger and malnutrition among infants, school children, pregnant women, and senior citizens that are vulnerable and underserved; cooperating with development partners to ensure preventive measures regarding food and nutrition issues.
The vision of the Policy is the achievement of optimal nutrition status for all Adamawa citizens that will result in improved quality of life, productivity and longevity of life, in line with the sustainable development goals. The mission aims at ensuring food and nutrition security through the deliberate and diligent coordinated implementation of nutrition-specific and nutrition sensitive interventions. The main goal is to attain optimal nutritional status for all, through coordinated and deliberate efforts. The Policy specifies the following objectives and targets: ensuring availability and accessibility of food for all at all times; ensuring accessibility and quality nutrition and nutrition health services at all stages of the life span of all citizens in an equitable manner; reducing malnutrition and improving food security; increasing knowledge and education of nutrition among the population; preventing and controlling chronic nutrition-related non-communicable diseases; strengthening research, monitoring, and evaluation of food and nutrition programmes; providing early warning information on the food and nutrition situation; ensuring universal access to nutrition-sensitive social protection; improving access to water and sanitation services; increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding; improving coverage of Zinc supplementation and vitamins in diarrhoea management; reducing the prevalence of diet-related non-communicable diseases; supporting integrated farming for increasing food security; strengthening appropriate technologies for harvesting, processing and preservation of food commodities; improving food preparation and quality; promoting dietary diversification and food fortification techniques; protecting consumers.