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ECOWAS to Support School Feeding in West Africa with €4.5 million
ECOWAS to Support School Feeding in West Africa with €4.5 million
By: Michael Mike
The Economic Communities of West Africa States (ECOWAS) on Friday said it has set aside €4.5 million to support the implementation of home grown school feeding in primary schools across the West African region.
The Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, ECOWAS Commission,
represented by the Director Agriculture and Rural Development, Alain Traore, stated this at the launch of the national policy forum on the institutionalisation and implementation of the home grown school feeding programme for sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion in Nigeria.
The event was organised by the presidential committee on home grown school feeding and supported by ActionAid Nigeria (AAN).
He said: “ECOWAS, with financial support from Spanish cooperation, is implementing the project to promote integrated school feeding models in West Africa (PMAI-AO), worth €4.5 million, the aim of which is to generate promising practices and strategies that can be scaled up and support the sustainability of school feeding programmes in the region.
“Food and nutritional security in general, and school feeding in particular, remains a strategic priority for our organisation, ECOWAS. It is at the heart of our regional agricultural policy, particularly through Axis 3, which aims to improve access to food, nutrition and the resilience of vulnerable populations.
“Children’s education is an essential pillar in the development of human capital in West Africa. School feeding based on local production (ASPL) is proving to be a promising approach for achieving this objective. It is not simply an isolated initiative; it is a holistic strategy that aims to improve child nutrition and contribute to school performance, support local agriculture, stimulate rural economies and reduce poverty.
“According to data from the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF), the school feeding situation in the region shows that 25 million children benefited from school canteens in West Africa in 2024, i.e. 32% of children of primary school age.
“This shows that the overall coverage rate is low in the region, despite the efforts made by governments and their partners. Greater political will, large-scale implementation of school feeding programmes, and their sustainability are therefore more than necessary.”
Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Tope Fasua, said with the relaunch of the programme Nigeria is at the forefront of feeding school children.
He said: @This year, the federal government relaunched the New Hope National Homegrown School Feeding Programme, signalling a decisive return to scale and systemisation. The programme is designed to boost enrollment and attendance, improve academic performance, and raise smallholder incomes through stable local procurement.
“Across ECOWAS, governments and partners are codifying school feeding into law, financing at scale, and improving delivery standards. Nigeria’s relaunch places us at the forefront of this regional movement, where political commitment, sustainable financing, and multisectoral coordination are the levers that lift outcomes.”
The Speaker House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, who was represented by the chairman house committee on food safety and nutrition, Chike Okafor, promised to monitor the implementation of the policy at all levels.
Representative of the Minister of state Humanitarian Affairs Yusuf Sununu, Mr. Valentine Ezulu, in his keynote address said, “the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme is not just about feeding children. It is about nation-building.
“It is about Education: because a child who is nourished is more attentive, more likely to attend school, and more capable of learning. It is about nutrition and healtth because regular balanced meals combat malnutrition, stunting, and anemia.”
ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Andrew Mamedu in his welcome address noted that there’s need to institutionalise the policy
He said: “Across Nigeria, too many children still go to school hungry. According to the World Bank’s Human Capital Index, Nigeria scores just 0.36—meaning a child born here today will achieve only 36% of their productive potential if nothing changes.
“The Home-Grown School Feeding Programme is more than a nutrition intervention. It is an education strategy that keeps children in school and helps them learn better.”
He noted that: “When properly institutionalised, the programme will improve nutrition and learning, create jobs, enhance financial inclusion, and build resilience for future generations.”
ECOWAS to Support School Feeding in West Africa with €4.5 million
Tension at UMTH as patients, relatives locked out by security officer
By: Zagazola Makama
A tense situation is unfolding at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) after the Chief Security Officer, Mr Izge Ibrahim, allegedly ordered a total lockdown of the gates, preventing patients and their families from gaining access.
The action, which has left hundreds of patients and relatives stranded outside, has sparked outrage and raised serious concerns about the safety and welfare of those on admission.
Families lamented that they were barred from delivering food and essential items to their loved ones, after Ibrahim allegedly introduced a controversial directive banning meals in food flasks, describing them as “a new way of stealing.”
The development has thrown patients into hunger and distress, with some reportedly left without meals for hours. Relatives who spoke to Zagazola described the order as inhuman, reckless, and life-threatening.
“This is wickedness. How can a man come in and suddenly shut down the hospital gate, blocking us from seeing our sick relatives? People are starving inside. Patients need food and care, not punishment,” one aggrieved relative said.
Zagazola observed chaotic scenes at the hospital entrance, as desperate relatives argued and pleaded with security personnel while patients inside reportedly cried for help. The situation created an atmosphere of anger and fear, with growing concern that lives could be endangered if urgent action is not taken.
As at the time of filing this report, the hospital management has not made any official statement on the matter.
End
Four killed, 15 injured as rival cult groups clash in Anambra
By: Zagazola Makama
Atleast four persons have been killed and 15 others injured following a suspected cult-related attack in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area.
Sources said that the attack occurred late on Thursday during a family meeting ahead of the burial of one Uche Ndilika, a plumber and alleged member of the Aye cult group.
“Armed men suspected to be cultists stormed the gathering at Ezi village, Ogidi, and opened fire on the mourners.
“Police operatives led by the Divisional Police Officer, Ogidi, responded swiftly and rushed the victims to Iyi-Enu Teaching Hospital, where four were confirmed dead and deposited at the morgue for autopsy.
“Fifteen others sustained varying degrees of gunshot injuries and are receiving treatment at Iyi-Enu Teaching Hospital and Twinkle Hospital, Ogidi,” the sources said.
The sources said 16 expended cartridges were recovered at the scene of the attack.
The sources added that preliminary investigations linked the assailants to the rival Bagger cult group, noting that detectives had commenced a manhunt for the perpetrators.
Four killed, 15 injured as rival cult groups clash in Anambra
Army troops comb forest after bandit attack in Kwara
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of the Nigerian Army have joined forces with the police and local hunters to comb Awi Forest in Omu Aran, following a bandit attack on vigilantes that led to the destruction of 23 motorcycles.
It was gathered that about 50 local government vigilantes had mobilised to the forest on Sept. 10, after receiving a distress call that suspected bandits were sighted in the area.
According to sources, the vigilantes engaged the hoodlums in a shootout before retreating.
“On getting back to where they parked their motorcycles, they discovered that 23 motorcycles had been set ablaze, presumably by the bandits,” said the sources.
He explained that the army, police operatives and local hunters had since embarked on a joint clearance operation in the forest to track down the criminals.
Army troops comb forest after bandit attack in Kwara
Tension at UMTH as patients, relatives locked out by security officer
Four killed, 15 injured as rival cult groups clash in Anambra
Army troops comb forest after bandit attack in Kwara
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