NHGSFP: FG Hands over 339,652 Feeding Utensils To Kebbi State

Photo Caption

(3rd Left) The Representative of the Permanent Secretary ,Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Bashir Nura Alkali, Director Procurement, Bello Alkali, (4th Left) The Representative of the Executive Governor Kebbi State, Commissioner of Education, Alhaji Mohammed Magawata Haliru, and others, during the Hand over of Feeding Utensils to the Beneficiaries NHGSFP, Kebbi State. On 30th September, 2021

By Ignatius Ushie

Furtherance to the efforts to ensure best experiences of hygiene and safety during consumption of meals, the Federal Government has handed over 339,652 feeding utensils to pupils of Atiku Bagudu Primary School in Kebbi State.

In a statement made available to PeakNews in Abuja, the representative of the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management Sadiya Umar Farouq, the Director of Procurement Bello Alkali, said the items are branded for the children to  benefit from the interventions provided by the Federal Government.

According to the Minister, “The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development will continue to improve on service delivery in all its social interventions especially the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme”.

She further  stated that the interventions  that will improve the effectiveness of the Programme has already commenced nationwide namely, “the enumeration exercise, a refined and more transparent and accountable partnership between the Federal government and State is being finalised”, adding that  “an operational review is underway, fully supported by experts and technical partners to ensure that the program succeeds in its objectives and capitalizes on gains and benefits such as women empowering, supporting the education of the girl child, creating employment, and improving inter-governmental collaboration; and the deployment of an extensive, layered and technology-supported monitoring system that will ensure real time information of how the program is being implemented and its evaluation”.

Continuing, she said” the desired reforms has been identified and strategic areas that needed review to accommodate the realities of the time have been planned out and these include:

Development of Evidence Based Policy Frameworks to guide implementation through ensuring the reliability of data especially on schools and pupils; Improving Meal Quality; and Capacity Development of all actors in the value chain.

Others are Building Strategic Partnerships to achieve sustainability; Introducing support aspects on School Health and Nutrition; and Strengthening Monitoring & Evaluation and impact assessment systems.

“The NHGSFP is one of the 4 clusters under the National Social Investment Program (NSIP) NPower, GEEP, CCT and NHGSFP all of which are well grounded in Kebbi State.

“The State Government on the other hand is responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the Programme including ensuring that data on schools and pupils are authentic (in close partnership with the SUBEB and the NBS), identification and procurement of food items (in the local areas), selection of cooks/vendors (in the communities) and ensuring that the food is properly cooked and adequate portions are timely served to the pupils”.

She said, “the designed accruable benefits of this program and its impact on the lives and livelihood of individuals, groups and communities is very clear. The number of children attending school will increase, they will perform academically better, the local women will be employed, the local farmers will sell their produce and wealth will be created and distributed within the communities, all innovatively well-coordinated to address the cross cutting issues of Out of School Children, Hunger, Malnutrition and general Poverty”.

“The NHGSFP has recorded over 9 million pupils being fed by over 100,000 Cooks nationwide. Entrepreneurship and Employment is being created within the school feeding ecosystem in sectors of women entrepreneurs, commodity transportation, farming & agricultural production and many other value-chain actors, she said”.

The representative of the  Governor of Kebbi State, Honourable Commissioner of Basic Primary and Secondary Education Alhaji Muhammadu Magawata Aliero, expressed gratitude to the Government  for the gigantic  stride of addressing the issue of out of school children in the country, he said the Programme  has reduced the problem  to the barest  minimum.

The Permanent Secretary for Budget and Planning and Basic Studies Aisha Usman commended the progress made in the state, she urge the school  management to utilise the utensils well and asked that some schools that are not currently  captured in the programme  should be  captured.

The feeding utensils were handed over to the Kebbi State  Programme Manager Comrade Isa A. Umar for National  Social Investment Programme for onward distribution to the schools in the state.