The Muhammadu Buhari regime spends about N12 billion monthly on its National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
Umar Bindir, the national coordinator, National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) of the ministry, stated this at a two-day stakeholders consultative workshop on the development of a national policy for NHGSFP in Abuja.
Mr Bindir stated that the school feeding programme was expensive as over 10 million children are fed at the rate of N100 meal per child as approved by Mr Buhari.
“As we speak we are feeding an average of 10 million children with the potential of that number increasing to 12 million probably in the next few weeks or months.
“Based on the impact of the programme – attracting children to school, ensuring the children are healthy, the children of the poor and vulnerable attending school longer it is necessary that the programme is sustained,’’ he said.
He underscored the need for the country to have a national policy on school feeding programmes to ensure sustainability.
In his remarks, Kim Do-Hwan, head, Capacity Strengthening and Policy Coherence, UN World Food Program, said the objective of the workshop was to engage critical stakeholders, who would jointly identify and agree on key components of a national school feeding policy.
Mr Do-Hwan said that the policy development process would take into account broad considerations that would benefit the NHGSFP as it was being implemented across the country.
He further said that the policy would serve as a foundation for the success and sustainability of the NHGSFP.
(NAN)