By Onwa Ekor
Cross River governor, Prince Bassey Otu, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to a people-centered government, with special focus on nutrition, preventive healthcare, and education, while calling for greater federal support to sustain reforms.
Speaking in Calabar when he received the Special Assistant to the President on Public Health, Mrs. Uju Rochas-Anwuka, the governor said his administration deliberately designed its policies to place citizens at the center of development, especially in sectors critical to human capital growth.
“Our agenda was very clear from the beginning; we want a people’s government here. Everything we do places the people at the center.
“Education and health are the two key areas that, if not working well, no society can make progress,” the governor said.
He explained that his administration prioritized nutrition and preventive healthcare as the foundation for long-term development, noting that efforts have already yielded measurable results.
“Since we started strengthening our nutrition sector, we have seen a steady decline in infant morbidity and mortality rates,” he said.
Otu highlighted some of the interventions introduced by his administration including fully paid maternity and paternity leave, support for parents to nurture their babies, and plans to fortify staple foods such as rice with vitamins.
He added that Cross River was also exploring the expansion of school feeding programmes to reach more children.
“Preventive health is far more effective than tackling ailments after they occur. That is why we are investing in nutrition, early childcare, and food security to build a strong immune base right from infancy,” the governor explained.
He thanked the presidential aide for the visit, assuring that Cross River remains committed to reforms that will improve health, education and the overall wellbeing of its people.
Earlier, Mrs Rochas-Anwuka described Nigeria’s malnutrition crisis as a national emergency, ranking the country first in Africa and second globally for child malnutrition.
She warned that annual losses due to malnutrition exceeds $1.5 billion, undermining human capital and national development.
“The Nutrition 774 Initiative was conceived to provide a unified response to Nigeria’s malnutrition crisis, elevating nutrition as a national priority,” she said.
Continuing, Rochas Anwuka said: “It is a multi-sectoral, community-based framework established to improve nutritional outcomes across the 774 Local Government Areas of the country.”
She added that, the initiative is anchored on a five-phase Strategic Plan that prioritizes actions to strengthen governance structures, ensure accountability, and guarantee long-term sustainability, pointing out that, each state council on nutrition is expected to provide overall leadership, policy direction, and oversight to drive the implementation of the N774 initiative.
She commended the Cross River government for making budgetary provisions for nutrition, noting that such commitment would strengthen local systems and align with national priorities.
“The vision is to achieve a well-nourished and healthy Nigerian population through strengthened local systems and coordinated national action on nutrition,” she hinted.
