₦1trn needed annually to sustain School Feeding Programme – Minister

By Kunle Sanni

The Federal Government has disclosed that an estimated ₦900 billion to ₦1 trillion will be required annually to effectively run the Renewed Hope National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (RH-NHGSFP), designed to provide nutritious meals to Nigerian schoolchildren.

The Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Tanko Yusuf Sununu, made this known during a stakeholders’ engagement meeting held in Abuja to discuss the relaunch and expansion of the programme.

According to Dr. Sununu, the initiative targets primary school pupils in grades 1 to 3, with a proposed schedule of three meals per week. He emphasized that sustaining such a large-scale programme requires more than government funding and called for broad collaboration from international donors, development partners, and key stakeholders.

“In addition to federal appropriations, we will require strategic partnerships and alternative funding sources to sustain the programme at the scale we envision,” the Minister said.

Backing the Minister’s call, Associate Professor Badamasi Lawal, National Coordinator and CEO of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), outlined potential funding sources, including presidential support, grants from international development partners, and the allocation of 5% of recovered repatriated funds.

Lawal highlighted the programme’s alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, emphasizing its objectives to combat hunger, enhance educational outcomes, support smallholder farmers, and stimulate local economies.

“This is not just a feeding programme—it’s a national strategy for development,” he stated.

The event also featured a presentation by Dr. Princess Aderemi Adebowale, National Programme Manager, who unveiled the Enhanced Platform of the feeding scheme, signaling a new phase focused on efficiency, accountability, and measurable impact.