Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has urged development partners to support the country’s efforts in implementing environmentally sustainable school meal programs.
She stated this at the Roundtable lunch, organized by the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation, on the sideline of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Acknowledging the potential of the school feeding programme to drive up enrollment in schools as well as promote nutrition among scholars, the First Lady said the programme is under review in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu has shown commitment by declaring a state of emergency on food security in the country, the First Lady noted.
She emphasized that the introduction of the Young Farmers Club Nigeria and the Every Home A Garden Competition, spearheaded by her, serves as evident indicators of the emphasis placed on providing nutritious meals to children and other members of the community.
Mrs Tinubu said to achieve a sustainable rollout, Nigeria, with its rapidly growing population and environmental challenges, requires all available assistance.
“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 Borno 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 First Lady emphasized.
The goal of the Roundtable lunch which had in attendance other members of OAFLAD, is to, among others, position the school meals agenda in the G20 engagement of the African Union.
Lantana Nasir
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