Kenny Folarin, Abuja
The Minister of Humanitarian, Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development Hajia Umar Farouq has said that the federal government has fed nearly 10 million pupils and engaged 100,000 cook under the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP).
Farouq while speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the Hand Over of Home Grown School Feeding Utensils and Aprons to the Federal Capital Territory explained that the purpose of the distribution of the utensils is to ensure that targets pupils have experience of integrity and safety during the consumption of their free meal as being provided by the federal government.
“In line with this am happy to announce that we have so far recorded feeding nearly 10 million pupils across the country and also engage over 100,000 cook.
Also massive employment opportunity are being created within the school feeding prgramme in area of transportation, energy supply, and food material packages.”
According to farouq, the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme aim at reducing poverty in collaboration between the federal and state government where the federal government is responsible for funding, making policy and guideline and conduct of close monitoring while the state carry out day-to-day implementation and procurement of the items including selection of vendors.
She added that the federal government is highly committed to this intervention which is why the school feeding programme is still on across the nation despite shortfall from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, farouq stated that the ministry had earlier handed over 70, 000 sets of utensils which include forks, and cutleries for the pupils and over 1500 aprons to the cook, however hope that all this will be put to good use.
Furthermore, she promised that the federal government will continue to roll out policies and strategies that will be able to strengthen, sustain and scale up the programmes as well as other social investment programme.
National Coordinator, National Social Investment Programme, Dr. Umar Bindir on his part noted that idea of the Home Grown Feeding Utensils aims at ensuring that children have clean stainless utensils to use so that the feeding procedure does not have an unhealthy environment.
Bindir stated that the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme captures 10 million children in Nigeria and as far as the ministry is concerned, the approval the minister has gotten from Mr. President is that every child has the clean stainless utensils to ensure that while they are feeding they are also fed healthily.
He added that with the feeding programme, enrollment has increased and in terms of percentage, initially 15-20% but we are now talking about 30-40%, “as we go, we hope to eliminate out-of-school syndrome in Nigeria”. He added.