The Federal Government has set a target to increase school-feeding coverage among primary school pupils from 33 per cent to 60 per cent by 2035, as Education Minister, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, called for stronger school-based interventions to tackle child malnutrition across Nigeria.
Alausa said school feeding, nutrition education, improved school health services and access to quality education must become integral components of the government’s Nutrition 774 Initiative, which seeks to translate national nutrition priorities into practical interventions across the country’s 774 local government areas.
The minister’s position was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, following Alausa’s participation in the Ethiopia–Nigeria Leadership Exchange on Moving the Needle on Nutrition in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Speaking during a session on building a multisectoral framework on Wednesday, the minister stressed that education, health, agriculture and other relevant sectors must work together to address malnutrition, with clear responsibilities, adequate funding and effective monitoring mechanisms.
He explained that children’s nutritional wellbeing, health and educational outcomes were closely connected, making schools strategic platforms for identifying nutritional needs and delivering interventions that could improve their development.
According to him, school feeding could improve children’s nutritional status while encouraging regular attendance and helping to address barriers that prevent pupils from enrolling in or remaining in school.
Alausa also highlighted the integration of nutrition-related subjects into Nigeria’s revised school curriculum, saying the initiative would equip pupils with knowledge of healthy eating, personal wellbeing and healthy lifestyles.
The Education Ministry is proposing to incorporate school feeding, school health, nutrition education and measures to improve access to quality education into local government multisectoral plans of action on food and nutrition.
The ministry has also proposed including relevant education indicators in the Nutrition 774 local government scorecard to measure progress, strengthen accountability and determine the impact of school-based interventions.
Alausa said effective implementation at the state and local government levels would be critical to achieving the initiative’s objectives, adding that national policies must be supported by measurable targets and reliable monitoring systems.
He further called for sustained attention to early childhood care and development beyond the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, noting that nutritional, health and developmental needs remain important throughout the wider period of childhood growth.
The minister also identified integrated and reliable data as essential to improving nutrition planning and implementation.
He said linking relevant government data would help authorities identify vulnerable children and communities, direct resources where they were most needed and establish whether interventions were reaching intended beneficiaries.
He noted that the Nutrition 774 Initiative offered an opportunity to strengthen coordination among the three tiers of government and ensure that nutrition programmes responded to the specific needs of communities.
Alausa welcomed the opportunity to learn from Ethiopia’s experience in coordinating nutrition interventions and mobilising domestic resources, saying relevant lessons from the leadership exchange could inform Nigeria’s approach when adapted to local circumstances.
He reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to collaborating with relevant ministries, state governments, local councils and development partners to advance education-related interventions under the initiative.
The minister said stronger school-feeding programmes, improved health services, nutrition education and better access to quality learning would contribute to building a healthier and more productive population.
He added that the ministry would continue to align its programmes with the federal government’s human capital development priorities, stressing that every Nigerian child should have the opportunity to learn, grow and achieve their full potential.
