The Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq has flagged off the Stakeholders Engagement and enumeration of beneficiaries of the NHGSFP in Borno State.
Farouq who was represent by the Director of Humanitarian Affairs, Grema Ali Alhaji, in the Ministry, flagged off the event at Government House Multipurpose Hall, Borno State.
The National Social Investment Programme was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 to recognize the social challenges in the country, decided to innovatively take proactive and decisive measures to fighting the effect of poverty and its attending consequences, following the consultations and research, he launched the implementation of the NSIP is in four unique clusters that are integrated to provide impact. They are: the Conditional Cash Transfer CCT), the NPower, the National Home Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) and Government Entrepneur EProgamme.
The Minister added that the NSIP is strategically designed to fully involved all stakeholders especially the State Government, were designed specifically to target the sections of the vulnerable Nigerians that include the Youths, elderly persons, widows, poorest of the poor, children and micro business persons.
Nine (9) Million’s pupils are currently benefiting from one free nutritious meals a day during the school term over 5, nationwide. She noted that the Ministry now has the mandate of reaching an additional 5 million pupils by 2023.
According to her with 100,000 cooks employed and more than 100,000 small holder farmers participating in this value chain, the NHGSFP is a serious potential for the Social- economic development and its needs to be strengthened scaled up and sustained nationwide.
She commended the State Government for its commitment in implementing the NHGSFP , while expressing delight over the Team as well as the key Stakeholders to do more to ensure more children benefit from the program. They include the National Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Education, National Orientation Agency, National Population Commission, National Youth service Corps, UBEC and state Education Boards are working jointly and closely to verify the existing numbers of beneficiaries on the programme and update the records for better effectiveness, transparency and accountability.
Earlier the representative of the Governor of Borno State Chief of Staff, Professor Isa Marte Hussainni said that education is and will always be one of the top most priority of his administration and as such in the budget for 2021 allocation, education sector is topmost because it has rejuvenated the performance and enhancement of primary, secondary and tertiary levels, adding that National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme has greatly increased the pupil’s enrollment population in schools.
Adding that that the interventions have gone down to the targeted groups and has yielded great results, hence the need for upgrading and sustained the upliftment of education in Borno State and the country as whole.
‘ Borno State is very lucky to have special consideration from the Federal Government’ s NSIP and a caring President, and all the interventions are geared towards reducing abject poverty and bringing hope to the common man.
According to him, he said the state has immensely benefitted from the interventions and many people have started their livelihood afresh, he therefore called on the critical stakeholders in the education sector to put their hands together to chant a new course to change the narrative.
The Focal Person of the NHGSFP in the state, Hajia Aisha Waziri, there are five ways to increase the number of persons that have been fed and also how to engage the women and the vendors so that Borno State can get more benefit from the Programme.
Continuing, she said the feeding Programme has boosted enrollment figures, teaching, learning experiences of children and boosted the livelihood of the women who are engaged in cooking make bigger and better.
She appreciated the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, and President Muhammadu Buhari for creating the awareness, and that no child will be left behind.
Other present at the event were:- Mohammed Alfa the Consultant, Ahaji Kabiru Wanori Commissioner for ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs among other dignitaries.
Adeyemo Felicia
Chief Information Officer
For: DD(Information)
July 7, 2021
