FG Spends N12 Billion Naira On School Feeding Program — Official

The federal government says it spends about N12 billion on the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programmes (NHGSFP) every month.

Dr. Umar Bindir, National Coordinator, National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) of the Ministry Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development stated this on Monday at a two-day stakeholder’s consultative workshop on the development of a national policy for NHGSFP in Abuja.

According to him, the school feeding program is very expensive as over 10 million children are fed at the rate of N100 meal per child as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said that the program was a continuation of deliberate strategies of the NSIP to institutionalize the clusters.

“Today we are focusing on the National Home-Grown School Feeding Program 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.

He said the program attracts children of the less privileged, thus the need to ensure its sustainability, adding that there is a need for the country to have a national policy on the school feeding program to ensure sustainability.

In his remarks, Capacity Strengthening and Policy Coherence, UN World Food Program, Mr. Kim Do-Hwan, Head, 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.

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.

“It will remain as a guiding document that ensures continued investment from national and sub-national stakeholders beyond any singular political dispensation.

“The NHGSFP is a key pathway for the government of Nigeria to achieve one of its own objectives to advance progress towards the Sustainability Development Goal (SDG 2) on zero hunger.

“This aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.’’

He, therefore, assured UNWFP’s commitment to supporting the achievement of SDG 2 in the country through effective partnerships, knowledge sharing, and capacity strengthening.