Kaduna: An NGO, Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) and the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (FMBEP) have trained the members of the Kaduna State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN) on the upgraded Performance Management System (PMS).
The primary objective of the training was to equip the SCFN members with the requisite skills to effectively use the upgraded PMS.
This is to improve the state’s planning, monitoring, and evaluation of nutrition-related interventions.
The training was also part of broader efforts to institutionalise a results-driven approach to implementing food and nutrition programs in Kaduna State.
At the end of the two-day training on Wednesday in Kaduna, Mr Bashir Muhammad, Chairman of SCFN, said the state has been doing a lot in terms of nutrition activities.
Muhammad, who also serves as the Permanent Secretary of the State Planning and Budget Commission, said that the committee has been doing well in introducing activities and programs tailored toward reducing malnutrition.
“The committee is also working towards implementing many activities to reduce malnutrition,” he said.
Therefore, the chairman said that the new PMS tool would expose the SCFN members to the nitty-gritty of what activities could be done.
He said the goal was to improve the reporting system, enhance the state’s ability to track progress and improve the nutritional status of the people in Kaduna State.
Hope Ikani, Programme Officer at CS-SUNN Abuja, said SCFN has long used the PMS.
She explained that the system was initially manual but was digitised in 2020 and needed improvements to make it user-friendly.
Ikani stated that CS-SUNN supported the FMBEP in ensuring the digitisation of the PMS.
The programme officer also explained that the training taught the SCFN members to log in, use the PMS, fill in questionnaires, and analyse answers on the dashboard.
She emphasised that the essence of the PMS was for monitoring, evaluation, and improved planning.
“The tool is very informative and helps inform advocacy and targeted support,” Ikani said.
Also, Mr Alaka Oladimeji, Chief IT Officer at the FMBEP, said the upgraded PMS would enable the state to track progress and make data-driven decisions.
He said the new system would support the state’s efforts to reduce malnutrition and improve nutritional outcomes.
Oladimeji stated the FMBEP’s commitment to supporting the state in improving nutrition.
The SCFN draws its membership across the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Education, the media and NAFDAC.
They also include development partners such as the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) project, CS-SUNN, Muslim World League, Alive and Thrive, and GAIN.
NAN also reports that the PMS is a digital platform designed to enhance government programs’ effectiveness, accountability, and transparency.
The upgraded PMS integrates advanced features that support real-time data capture, automated analytics, and seamless collaboration across sectors.
