The federal government, through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, has partnered with international organisations and philanthropic institutions to combat hunger and child malnutrition across Nigeria.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, disclosed this on Monday at the State House, Abuja, when he led a delegation to seek collaboration with the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, to address hunger and malnutrition in the country.

The ministry of health and social welfare has established a strategic federal partnership with the First Lady’s Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) to strengthen efforts towards eliminating hunger and tackling child malnutrition.

Mr Pate emphasised the federal government’s commitment to addressing both acute and chronic malnutrition through existing government policies, programmes and intervention frameworks.

He identified the National Community Food Bank programmes and similar initiatives implemented by subnational governments as key mechanisms for delivering nutritional support to vulnerable Nigerians.

According to him, strengthening collaboration among government institutions, international organisations and philanthropic partners would help improve access to nutritious food and reduce the burden of malnutrition across the country.

Responding, Mrs Tinubu said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had continued to implement various programmes and interventions aimed at improving citizens’ welfare and addressing hunger and food insecurity.

She said the government had introduced several support initiatives, including food bank programmes, to address malnutrition among children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

The first lady explained that the intervention was being driven by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Bank of Agriculture.

She said the programme was designed to provide immediate nutritional support to children under six years of age, pregnant women and lactating mothers across all 774 local government areas (LGAs) in Nigeria.

Mrs Tinubu noted that the initiative would strengthen existing government efforts to protect vulnerable groups, particularly mothers and young children who face heightened risks associated with inadequate nutrition.

William Moore, chief executive officer of Operation End Starvation (OES), described the organisation as an initiative supported by a major grant from the United States and contributions from international philanthropists.

Mr Moore said the initiative aimed to mobilise more than $1 billion annually towards preventing child deaths caused by starvation and addressing the underlying challenges of severe malnutrition.

He explained that Nigeria had been identified as a primary location for demonstrating how large-scale investments, implemented through direct partnerships with governments, could deliver measurable results in tackling hunger within the next two years.

In her remarks, Kara Weiss, co-founder of OES, said effective solutions to malnutrition were cost-effective but had historically been constrained by systemic challenges, including supply chain inefficiencies and a lack of transparency in the delivery of interventions.

Ms Weiss said the organisation had therefore chosen to work directly with the government to ensure that nutritional interventions reached the people most affected by hunger and malnutrition.

She stressed that collaboration with government institutions would help improve coordination, strengthen accountability and ensure that resources were directed towards vulnerable communities requiring urgent nutritional assistance.

Members of the delegation included Muyi Aina, executive director of the NPHCDA; William Moore, chief executive officer of OES; Kara Weiss, co-founder of OES; and Adetokunbo Oshin, senior programme director at Big Wing Philanthropy, among others.

(NAN)