The Federal Government Home Grown School Feeding Programme yesterday recieved a boost following the launch of the value for money (VFM) study.
The study backed by the partnership for Child Development (PCD), and Imperial College, London, Harvard University and the Partnership for Childs Development and the Schools Meals coalition is aimed at ending hunger and malnutrition in Nigerian schools.
The study launched in Kaduna and Osun states will be subsequently extended to the entire 36 states of the federation before the end of 2024.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Home Grown School Feeding Programme Dr.Yetunde Adeniji disclosed this at a stakeholders workshop held in Abuja.
Adeniji emphasized that the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Action plans adding that the workshop seeks to estimate the cost of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme in order to reflect on its multi-sectoral benefits and its impact on socio economic as well as human capital development of the country.
The SSA also stated that the objective of the study is also to determine the effectiveness of the school feeding programme in improving student’s attendance and academic performance, pointing out the comparative analysis of the benefits of investing in school feeding and other education interventions in the country.
While emphasizing that the stakeholders meeting marks the take-off of the programme in the two pilot states, Adeniji reiterated that teachers, principals, traditional rulers and community members would be carried along in the implementation process that would be fully monitored by state governments.
Critical Stakeholders in attendance where high level representatives from Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare , Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Ministry of Education, the Universal Basic Education Commission.
Also in attendance were various Development Partners like Gain, Plane FCDO, International Rescue Committee USAID, USAID Learn to Read, Maple Leaf early Years Foundation.
