By Ebi Kesiena
Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has inaugurated an advocacy and awareness campaign for a proposed National Community Food Bank Programme aimed at tackling child malnutrition across the country.
The launch took place on Tuesday at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, during the maiden edition of the National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit on Health.
Mrs. Tinubu emphasised that health remains fundamental to national productivity and development, noting that President Bola Tinubu has prioritised the sector under the Renewed Hope Agenda. She disclosed that her office would collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency to address child malnutrition nationwide.
She further revealed plans to partner with the Bank of Industry, the Bank of Agriculture, and other stakeholders to formally launch the programme in April.
According to the First Lady, the initiative will leverage the nationwide network of primary health centres to identify and register eligible families with children under six years. Caregivers will receive nutrition counselling and food vouchers redeemable for locally produced, nutritious foods at community food banks located near health centres.
Funding for the scheme, she said, will come through a trust fund supported by private sector partners and philanthropists, with oversight by credible Nigerians to ensure transparency.
Tinubu called on traditional and religious leaders, as well as governors’ wives, to mobilise grassroots support and ensure no eligible family is excluded.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said the initiative aligns with the administration’s health reform agenda, strengthening governance, service delivery, and domestic health financing. The summit drew leaders from all 36 states and representatives of the World Health Organization.
