Dr Umar Bindir, National Coordinator, National Social Investment Programme of the Ministry Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (MHADMSD) has revealed that the Federal Government spends about N12 billion on the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programmes (NHGSFP).
Mr Bindir disclosed this at a two-day stakeholders consultative workshop on the development of a national policy for NHGSFP in Abuja.
“Today we are focusing on the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme with the support of the World Food Programme (WFP) to develop an inclusive policy for NHGSFP.
“This is to ensure that it is sustainable, measurable and highly impactful as directed by Mr President.
“As we speak we are feeding an average of 10 million children with the potential of that number increasing to 12 million probably in the next few weeks or months.
“Based on the impact of the programme – attracting children to school, ensuring the children are healthy, the children of the poor and vulnerable attending school longer it is necessary that the programme is sustained,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Kim Do-Hwan, Head, Capacity Strengthening and Policy Coherence, UN World Food Program, said the objective of the workshop was to engage critical stakeholders, who would jointly identify and agree on key components of a national school feeding policy.
Mr Do-Hwan said that the policy development process would take into account broad considerations that would benefit the NHGSFP as it was being implemented across the country.
He further said that the policy would serve as a foundation for the success and sustainability of the NHGSFP.
Also speaking, one of the participants, Dr Onallo Akpa, Director–General, Poultry Association of Nigeria, said that the essence of the programme was to ensure that the children have nutritious meals.
Mr Akpa said that the school feeding programme encouraged academic and community development, hence the need for sustainability.
