From Idu Jude, Abuja
The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has applauded the Federal Government for introducing the National Guidelines for Public Procurement of Food and Related Services, describing the policy as a major step towards improving nutrition and promoting healthier eating in public institutions across Nigeria.
The guidelines, published in December 2025 and officially launched in Abuja on Monday, were developed by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, relevant ministries, departments and agencies, development partners, professional bodies and civil society organisations.
In a statement, CAPPA said the guidelines would establish uniform nutrition standards for food purchased with public funds for schools, school feeding programmes, hospitals, correctional facilities, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camps, orphanages, internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, emergency shelters and other public institutions.
The organisation noted that the policy restricts the procurement, sale and serving of sugar-sweetened beverages and drinks containing non-sugar sweeteners in public institutions. It also sets limits for sodium, saturated fats and trans fats, while encouraging the consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The guidelines further promote local food sourcing and integrate nutrition and food safety standards into public procurement.
CAPPA said Nigeria’s public food procurement system had operated for years without uniform nutrition-focused standards, allowing cost and convenience to outweigh nutritional quality. It noted that highly processed foods rich in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats had become common in many publicly funded feeding programmes.
The organisation said the new guidelines could reverse that trend by placing nutrition at the centre of government food purchases and urged federal, state and local government institutions to fully implement the policy.
CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, described the guidelines as “a major milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards healthier food environments.”
“The government remains one of the country’s largest purchasers of food. Every day, millions of meals are served through schools, hospitals, correctional facilities, NYSC camps, IDP camps and other public institutions. What the government chooses to buy inevitably shapes what millions of Nigerians eat. The Guidelines recognise that public procurement is not just another purchasing activity but a powerful public health intervention,” he said.
The organisation welcomed the introduction of maximum sodium limits for several processed and packaged foods, in line with the National Guidelines for Sodium Reduction 2024.
Under the policy, each adult meal must contain no more than 700 milligrams of sodium, equivalent to 1.75 grams of salt, while lower limits apply to children and other vulnerable groups.
The guidelines also ban the purchase of partially hydrogenated oils and require that food products contain no more than two grams of trans fats per 100 grams. Manufacturers are also expected to disclose trans-fat content on product labels.
CAPPA further praised the provision requiring at least 30 per cent of institutional food procurement budgets to be spent on locally produced food supplied by smallholder farmers and community vendors, saying the measure would improve nutrition, strengthen local food systems and support rural livelihoods.
According to the organisation, the guidelines align Nigeria with global efforts to use public procurement to reduce diet-related diseases and promote healthier food environments, drawing from the World Health Organization’s Action Framework for Developing and Implementing Public Food Procurement and Service Policies for a Healthy Diet.
While commending the Federal Government for the initiative, CAPPA stressed that the policy’s success would depend on effective implementation.
It urged the Bureau of Public Procurement to immediately establish the National Food Procurement Oversight Committee as provided in the guidelines to monitor compliance, investigate violations and promote civil society participation.
The organisation also called for the appointment of monitoring officers across public institutions, routine inspections, quarterly compliance reports, annual independent audits, the creation of a central compliance database and the publication of annual compliance reports.
“Launching the Guidelines is an important first step. The real measure of success will depend on how faithfully these standards are applied in everyday procurement and food service operations. Procurement officers, caterers, contractors and food service providers must receive the training and support required to comply,” Oluwafemi said.
CAPPA also urged public institutions at all levels of government to align their procurement processes, food contracts and menus with the new standards to ensure Nigerians benefit from healthier meals.
The organisation commended the Bureau of Public Procurement, the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, development partners, including Resolve to Save Lives and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, as well as professional bodies and civil society groups involved in developing the guidelines.
It pledged to continue supporting implementation through research, public education, stakeholder engagement and independent monitoring.
(The Sun)
