The House of Representatives has mandated the Committees on Nutrition and Food Security, Finance, Aids, Loan, and Debt Management to investigate the ANRiN World Bank loan to ensure that special programs of nutrition values are not abused or mismanaged.
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The resolution followed the adoption of a motion on ” Need to Investigate the Alleged Mismanagement and Misapplication of 232 Million Dollars Equivalent to 350 Billion Naira Loan for Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) Program”, moved by Mr. Chike John Okafor at plenary.
Leading the debate on the motion, Mr. Okafor said that the House notes the alleged mismanagement and misapplication of $232 million in the Loan Intervention ANRiN
Program in Nigeria.
” Aware that the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) is a World Bank-funded, performance based project that uses loans to address nutritional challenges in Nigeria and to provide improved nutrition for vulnerable communities by increasing access to quality, cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children under five years of age in the following 12 (twelve) selected states (Abia, Akwa Ibom, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, and Plateau) from the six geopolitical zones.
” Also aware that the ANRIN Program was entered into by the Federal Government in 2018 to achieve a balance between the urgent need to protect Nigerian children from the devastating and life-long effects of
malnutrition with the expectation of improved nutritional interventions and outcomes before December
2024″. Mr. Okafor said.
He also said that the House is concerned that the programs so far have been alleged to be “water, water everywhere but no water to drink,” a beautiful program for solving malnutrition challenges, but it has appeared to produce miraculous and obviously ineffective outcomes, taking cognizant of the reports and current indicators of Nigeria amidst such a huge and humongous loan from the World Bank.
Worried that the recently released Nigeria Demographic Health Survey 2023/2024 indicated a worsening
of nutrition specifics with indices showing an increase in under -5 (five) stunting and malnutrition and the current realities raising questions about the 232 million US dollars spent for nutritional interventions and
Nigeria’s poor global ranking.
” Cognizant that an investigation will determine the extent of the alleged mismanagement of Funds in the ANRiN Program, evaluate its impact, identify responsible parties, and propose accountability measures for
future $50 million interventions”. The motion said.
The House therefore mandated the Committees on Nutrition and Food Security, Finance, Aids, Loan, and Debt Management to invite the Federal Ministry of Health, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, World Bank, the twelve beneficiary States and other relevant stakeholders involved to
provide necessary documents and insights on the program for ease of investigation and report within four weeks for further legislative action.
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