Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has urged development partners to support the country’s initiative to implement climate-friendly school meal programs.
In a statement from Mrs Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Media, Busola Kukoyi, the First Lady made this call during a roundtable luncheon organized by the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation, held alongside the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Mrs Tinubu noted the potential of the school feeding program to increase school enrollment and enhance nutrition among students, noting that the program is currently undergoing a review in Nigeria.
“While President Bola Tinubu has shown commitment by declaring a state of emergency on food security in the country, Senator Oluremi Tinubu noted that the launch of Young Farmers Club Nigeria and Every Home A Garden Competition promoted by her are clear indications of the priority attached to the provision of affine nutritious meals to children and others in the society. To ensure sustainable rollout, Nigeria, with its surging population and climatic challenges, needs all the help it can get.
“Nigeria is open to assistance in that area. It is something that I believe we want to do so that we can have school enrollment up and then get most of the children, especially children from the North, that are going through desertification and, recently, flooding as witnessed in Bornu State. It is a hydra-headed problem that we are facing. But we are not scared but we need all the assistance we can get, and you can believe in our administration that we are here to work for our people and get Nigeria back on its feet”, the statement added.
The Roundtable lunch, attended by various members of OAFLAD, aims to strategically position the school meals agenda within the G20 engagement of the African Union, among other objectives.
