Vice President Kashim Shettima has left Abuja for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he is set to spearhead a government-to-government peer exchange program aimed at improving and speeding up nutrition delivery.
Shettima is attending the forum at the invitation of Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister, H.E. Temesgen Tiruneh, who is championing the country’s multisectoral approach to improving nutrition.
As head of Nigeria’s delegation, the Vice President will participate in the inaugural Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange Visit, aimed at enabling key stakeholders to share experiences on building a federal, state and local compact on nutrition.
During the visit, the Nigerian delegation will exchange experiences with Ethiopian officials on how government-led initiatives can improve nutrition delivery. The team will also tour key establishments involved in nutrition and food production across the country.
The locations scheduled for the visit include a wheat farm and banana plantation in Oromia; the ‘Bounty of the Basket’ Training Centre and selected households in Mojo; and Jabdu Motors in Bishoftu.
The Vice President is accompanied by the Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, and his Jigawa State counterpart, Umar Namadi.
Also on the trip are the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari; and the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mrs Zubaida Umar Abubakar.
The Vice President is expected to return to Abuja at the end of his engagements in Addis Ababa.
What You Should Know
Vice President Kashim Shettima is leading a delegation of Nigerian governors and ministers to Ethiopia to learn how the East African nation implements its multisectoral strategies for better nutrition and food production.
- Positive Impact: The insights gained from visiting Ethiopian agricultural sites, farms, and training centers could help Nigerian leaders adopt better policies to tackle malnutrition and boost food security back home.
- Potential Concerns: Delegations of this scale incur travel expenses, and citizens will ultimately look for practical, measurable policy implementations rather than just study tours.
