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● US-backed initiative identifies Nigeria as key investment destination
● First Lady assures donors of accountability, says health sector has strong manpower
Nigeria is seeking international support to tackle child starvation and malnutrition, with a US-based initiative, Operation End Starvation (OES), targeting more than $1 billion annually to prevent child deaths from hunger across sub-Saharan Africa.
The initiative, supported by the Eleanor Crook Foundation, is seeking a direct partnership with the Federal Government to demonstrate how large-scale investment can combat child malnutrition, with Nigeria identified as a primary focus over the next two years.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed the proposed collaboration when he led a delegation of the organisation and other health sector agencies to meet the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
Pate said Nigeria was strengthening existing interventions to reduce malnutrition, including the National Community Food Bank Programme, rolled out in partnership with the Office of the First Lady across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
He said the government was working to reduce the estimated 6.4 million cases of acute child malnutrition while addressing the nutritional needs of pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.
The minister said the ongoing interventions provided a foundation for expanded international cooperation in the fight against hunger.
Chief Executive Officer of Operation End Starvation, Williams Holdsworth Moore, said the initiative was seeking to mobilise more than $1 billion annually to prevent child deaths caused by starvation, with the broader goal of directing $1 billion towards ending starvation across sub-Saharan Africa within the next two years.
He said Nigeria had been identified as a priority country following consultations with the country’s health team and approval by the United States Department of State for its inclusion in the initiative’s outlook.
Moore said the organisation was impressed by Nigeria’s efforts to combat acute malnutrition and wanted to work directly with the government to deliver results at scale.
Responding, the First Lady assured the prospective partners that any assistance provided to Nigeria would be put to effective use, describing the country’s health sector personnel as committed and capable of delivering on the initiative’s objectives.
“Nigeria has the best team in the health sector presently,” she said.
Tinubu praised the expertise and dedication of officials across government ministries, citing her experience working with Pate, Dr Muyi and other public officials.
She said President Bola Tinubu’s administration was undertaking the reforms needed to improve the country’s systems, adding that Nigeria deserved support to achieve better outcomes for its citizens.
“Nigeria deserves better and there is nothing we give to her that is too much because if the system works, it will ultimately come back to us,” she said.
The First Lady assured the delegation that the health team would deploy any assistance received for its intended purpose.
Operation End Starvation is a public-private partnership initiative established to address global child malnutrition and deaths associated with starvation, particularly across sub-Saharan Africa.
Its proposed engagement with Nigeria is intended to demonstrate how direct government partnerships and large-scale funding can deliver measurable progress against acute malnutrition within the next two years.
