National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) Archives

The National Coordinator, National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, (NHGSFP), Dr. Umar Bindir has said the federal government will implement the Nutritional Guideline to curb Nutrients Deficiencies in the ongoing National Home Grown School Feeding Programme.

Bindir while speaking in Abuja on Friday at a one – day validation meeting on nutrition guidelines of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme stated that the meeting is another milestone having developed a nutritional guideline in collaboration with the Nutrition society of Nigeria with the aim knowing what kind of food can make a balance diet for the children.

“This function is another milestone in the sense that we have now developed a nutritional guideline with the help of the nutrition society of Nigeria which is basically on local content on how we can how we train our cooks, feed our children, what kind of food can make the menu of our food materials”.

Bindir explained that since the inception of the NHGSFP in 2016, the government has fed more than 10 million children nationwide with not report of ill-health on food consumption by the school children.

“This is a good thing happening in our country, at the end of this meeting we will have validate the useful information on nutrition as it relates to the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme”.

Technical Adviser to the Minister of of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on School Feeding, Zainab Abubakar on her part noted that the nutritional guideline is important for pupils to have the nutritional benefits, reduce micro nutrients deficiencies and impart positively on their learning process.

“As the Federal Government and ministry, we need to ensure that what is on that menu is of nutritional value and we have to ensure that what those pupils are fed within this program has to benefit them nutritionally and have an impart on thier learning process”.

“Part of the objective of the guidelines is to identify national nutritional requirements and reduce micro nutrients deficiencies, we also need to promote nutrition best practices to strengthen the program better”.

President, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Wasiu Afolabi expressed optimism that for the first time the country is getting it right putting nutrition as a key factor in operationalizing the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme.

Afolabi pledged the commitment of the society to partner with the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme and ensure that school children under the program benefits from the nutritional guideline when validated.

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.

National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP)

NHGSFP: FG to Implement Nutritional Guideline to curb Nutrients Deficiencies

NHGSFP: We have fed nearly 10 million pupils – FG

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).