Nigeria is strengthening its fight against hunger and child malnutrition through a new wave of collaboration involving government institutions, international organisations and philanthropic partners, raising fresh hopes for vulnerable families across the country.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, announced the partnership on Monday at the State House in Abuja while leading a delegation to seek collaboration with First Lady Sen. Oluremi Tinubu. The initiative aims to improve access to nutritious food and strengthen interventions against acute and chronic malnutrition.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has established a strategic partnership with the First Lady’s Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) to expand efforts towards eliminating hunger and protecting children from the devastating effects of inadequate nutrition.
Pate reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to tackling malnutrition through existing policies, programmes and intervention frameworks. He identified National Community Food Bank programmes and similar initiatives implemented by state and local governments as important channels for delivering nutritional assistance to vulnerable Nigerians.
He explained that stronger coordination among government agencies, international organisations and philanthropic institutions would help ensure that more people in need receive adequate nutritional support.
Responding to the delegation, Tinubu said President Bola Tinubu’s administration had continued to implement welfare programmes and interventions to address hunger and food insecurity. She highlighted food bank initiatives designed to support children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, who are particularly vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies.
The First Lady explained that the programme was being implemented through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Bank of Agriculture.
A major target of the intervention is to provide immediate nutritional support to children under six years of age, pregnant women and lactating mothers across all 774 local government areas of Nigeria. This nationwide approach is intended to strengthen existing government efforts and extend assistance to vulnerable households regardless of their location.
International philanthropic partners are also expected to contribute resources and expertise to the campaign.
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William Moore, Chief Executive Officer of Operation End Starvation (OES), said the organisation was supported by a major grant from the United States and contributions from international philanthropists. He disclosed that OES aimed to mobilise more than one billion dollars annually to prevent child deaths caused by starvation and address the underlying causes of severe malnutrition.
Moore identified Nigeria as a primary location for demonstrating how large-scale investments, implemented through direct partnerships with governments, could produce measurable results in combating hunger within the next two years.
Kara Weiss, Co-Founder of OES, added that many malnutrition interventions were cost-effective but had been limited by systemic challenges, including inefficient supply chains and insufficient transparency in programme delivery.
She said OES was working directly with government institutions to improve coordination, strengthen accountability and ensure that resources reached the communities most affected by hunger.
The delegation also included Dr Muyi Aina, Executive Director of the NPHCDA, and Dr Adetokunbo Oshin, Senior Programme Director at Big Wing Philanthropy, among others.
