From Okwe Obi, Abuja
In a bid to strengthen the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP), the Federal Government, yesterday, disclosed plans to build 60 kitchens across the country.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq stated this in commemoration of the 7th Africa Day of School Feeding, in Abuja.
Umar Farouq explained that the kitchens would also be a learning centre for millions of unemployed youths.
‘We are currently working on a policy framework for the programme, and will also be rolling out quality assurance structures, along with the introduction of the concept of School Kitchens to the program in 60 model schools across the Nation.
“These School Kitchens are designed to serve as models, as well as training and skills building centres for cooks and other vendors of the programme,’ she said.
The minister noted that the country currently has ‘9,881,773 million pupils in over 53,000 schools, of which 4.1 million pupils have so far been verified and captured on the NHGSFP Database, in line with the Ministry’s ongoing efforts at establishing a verifiable database of beneficiaries across all of its programmes and interventions.’
To fortify the scheme, she stated that the ministry forged a viable working partnership with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), to provide required regulatory oversight and also monitor compliance on hygiene, food safety.
She added ‘the ministry is also working closely with the World Food Programme (WFP), which is providing technical support, capacity building and policy guidance in the implementation of the NHGSFP.’
She appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari “for the recent approval granted by the Federal Government of Nigeria for the upward review of the daily cost of feeding from N70 to N100 per meal per child, which comes along with increased monitoring and tighter regulations.
‘This is coming at a time when there is an urgent need to ensure that our children are not left behind in the development process, especially in the wake of the devastation caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic to the stability of millions of Households here in Nigeria.
‘That is precisely why in 2020, as part of the government’s efforts to cushion the effects of the pandemic, the Ministry provided dry take-home rations to targeted households of pupils on the program in Lagos and Ogun States, and the FCT.
‘This is in line with our mission and mandate to ensure that all Nigerians in need are heard, seen and included.’