Oluwatobi Adu 
Minister of Education, Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa
ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal Government is positioning schools as a key frontline in Nigeria’s fight against child malnutrition, with the Minister of Education calling for stronger school feeding, health services and nutrition education.
Minister of Education, Dr Morufu Olatunji Alausa, made the call at the Ethiopia-Nigeria Leadership Exchange on Moving the Needle on Nutrition in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Wednesday.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Alausa said the education sector could help ensure nutrition interventions reach more children and families through stronger coordination among the education, health, agriculture and planning sectors.
He said the Nutrition 774 Initiative provides an opportunity to take national nutrition priorities to all 774 local government areas.
Under the initiative, school feeding would serve both as a nutrition intervention and a way to improve school attendance and keep children engaged in education.
Alausa also highlighted the integration of nutrition into the revised school curriculum. He said children need the knowledge and support to develop healthy eating habits and protect their wellbeing.
The Federal Ministry of Education’s proposed contribution includes school feeding, school health services, nutrition education and measures to improve access to quality education.
Education indicators are also being proposed for inclusion in the initiative’s local government scorecard. The move is expected to strengthen accountability and make it easier to track progress.
The minister said the National Policy on Food and Nutrition aims to increase school feeding coverage from 33 per cent to 60 per cent of primary school children by 2035.
He also called for greater attention to children beyond the first 1,000 days of life, noting that their nutritional, health and developmental needs continue as they grow.
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