By Mariatou Ngum & Abdou Mbye
Vice President Mohammed B.S. Jallow on Tuesday, 11 August, received members of the Board of the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) at State House in Banjul, where discussions focused on strengthening nutrition governance, institutional capacity and sustainable financing for nutrition programmes across The Gambia.
The meeting formed part of NaNA’s regular engagement with the Vice President to provide updates on the Agency’s performance, challenges and strategic priorities.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, NaNA Board Chairperson Musukuta Komma said the Board meets with the Vice President every six months to brief him on its oversight responsibilities and the Agency’s efforts to strengthen the delivery of nutrition services nationwide.
She said the engagements had proved valuable, with each meeting providing clear assignments and areas requiring follow-up.
One of the major developments discussed on Tuesday was progress in strengthening NaNA’s governance framework following the enactment of the country’s nutrition legislation.
According to Madam Komma, the passage of the Nutrition Act provides an important foundation for translating the legislation into a comprehensive policy and strategic framework.
“We are glad to announce that we have a costed strategic plan at this point,” she said, describing the forthcoming framework as ambitious and designed to improve the coordination and delivery of nutrition services from institutions to households and communities.
She called on communities, institutions, development partners and donors to work closely with NaNA to ensure the successful implementation of the strategic plan.
Madam Komma also disclosed that the Agency is preparing to launch its fourth-generation nutrition policy and costed strategic plan, urging stakeholders and the public to look forward to the official launch.
Assessing the Agency’s performance over the past six months, Madam Komma rated NaNA’s execution and compliance at more than 90 percent, while acknowledging that the assessment reflected her position as Board Chairperson.
She said the Board had placed particular emphasis on strengthening governance, procedures, policies and accountability mechanisms to ensure that resources entrusted to NaNA, particularly donor funds, are properly managed and accounted for.
“When donors are giving you funding to implement programmes and activities, they want to see that you have the procedures, policies and instruments in place whereby every dollar invested can be tracked for,” she explained.
She said NaNA had responded positively to the Board’s recommendations and was strengthening its systems to ensure that resources reach their intended beneficiaries while maintaining appropriate accountability.
According to Madam Komma, the Agency now has a stronger set of governance tools and policy frameworks to support effective programme and financial management.
Despite the progress, Madam Komma identified financial and human resources as key challenges to implementing NaNA’s new strategic direction.
She said the costed strategic plan would require adequate resources for successful implementation, stressing the need for increased government support alongside continued assistance from development partners and donors.
She also called for greater attention to nutrition education and professional training within the country’s academic institutions, particularly at the University of The Gambia.
“We need nutritionists to be able to really move the agency forward,” she said, while also advocating for the deployment of qualified dieticians to major health facilities across the country.
She said dieticians would play an important role in advising communities and patients on appropriate nutrition practices, particularly as The Gambia faces what she described as a double burden of malnutrition, involving both undernutrition and overweight or overnutrition.
Madam Komma said integrating nutrition more effectively into academic and health institutions would help the country develop the skilled workforce needed to implement its nutrition strategy effectively.
The Board Chairperson described Vice President Jallow as open and supportive during the engagement, saying he committed to addressing some of the issues raised by the Board.
She added that the Vice President challenged NaNA to accelerate work on outstanding regulations needed to give full effect to the country’s nutrition legislation.
Another key takeaway from the meeting, she said, was the need for NaNA to look beyond government and donor support and explore innovative ways of mobilising additional resources.
“We really need to reflect and look inward. How can we also generate resources that we can use to support some of the things that we have requested for?” she said.
Madam Komma said the Board would continue working with NaNA management to strengthen the Agency’s institutional foundation, systems and financial sustainability, ensuring that future support builds on strong governance and accountability mechanisms.
The engagement highlights the government’s broader commitment to strengthening nutrition as a critical component of national development, public health and human capital development.
