Nigeria’s efforts to tackle child malnutrition have received a boost following a proposed partnership between the Federal Government and US-based organisation, Operation End Starvation, aimed at combating hunger and preventing child deaths across the country.
The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, expressed confidence in the capacity of Nigeria’s health sector team when she received a delegation of the organisation, led by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate.
“Nigeria has the best team in the health sector presently,” the First Lady said, commending the expertise, dedication and commitment of professionals serving across the country’s ministries.
She also expressed satisfaction with her collaboration with the health ministry, noting that the quality of manpower available across government institutions was encouraging.
“It’s been a delight working with Prof. Pate, Dr Muyi and others. I also work with the Ministry of Education and others. The manpower we have now in the ministries are so wonderful,” she said.
Senator Tinubu noted that Nigeria needed significant reforms, adding that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was already undertaking efforts to reposition the country.
“Nigeria deserves better, and there is nothing we give to her that is too much because if the system works, it will ultimately come back to us,” she said.
The First Lady assured the delegation that any assistance provided through the proposed partnership would be put to effective use by the Nigerian health team.
“I assure you that whatever aid you give us, this health team would put it to good use,” she added.
Earlier, Professor Pate explained that the proposed collaboration would strengthen the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to address hunger and malnutrition, particularly among children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.
He highlighted the National Community Food Bank Programme, implemented in partnership with the Office of the First Lady, as one of the government’s initiatives already making an impact across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
According to the minister, the government is working to reduce the country’s estimated 6.4 million cases of acute child malnutrition while expanding support for vulnerable groups.
“Nigeria is working hard to scale down its 6.4 million figure of acute child malnutrition, while also attending to the health of pregnant women and lactating mothers,” Pate said.
He added that several interventions were already underway to improve health and nutrition outcomes across the country.
“A lot of good things are already happening in the country,” the minister said.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Operation End Starvation, Williams Holdsworth Moore, said the organisation was seeking to work with Nigeria as part of a broader initiative to mobilise substantial funding for the prevention of child deaths caused by starvation.
He explained that the programme, supported by a macro grant from the United States Government and other global philanthropists, aims to channel more than $1 billion annually towards tackling starvation.
“The foundation is impressed by Nigeria’s focus on combating acute malnutrition, and we are seeking partnership for this global Operation End Starvation programme,” Moore said.
He disclosed that the organisation intended to mobilise $1 billion to combat starvation across sub-Saharan Africa over the next two years, noting that the region had both a significant malnutrition burden and the capacity to address it.
“We want to move $1 billion to end starvation in the next two years across sub-Saharan Africa. The burden is high, but the capacity is also very high,” he said.
Moore further disclosed that the United States Department of State had approved Nigeria’s inclusion in the initiative, adding that the organisation was impressed by the quality of professionals within the country’s health sector.
“We have met with the Nigeria health team, and they are one of the best of many we have met,” he said.
Operation End Starvation, an initiative of the Eleanor Crook Foundation, is a public-private partnership nonprofit focused on ending child malnutrition and deaths caused by starvation across sub-Saharan Africa.
Nigeria is expected to serve as a primary focus of the initiative over the next two years, with the organisation seeking to demonstrate how large-scale investments, implemented through direct government partnerships, can help reduce child malnutrition and improve health outcomes.
The proposed collaboration is expected to complement existing government programmes and strengthen efforts to protect vulnerable children and mothers from the effects of hunger and malnutrition.