Alausa seeks improved school feeding to fight child malnutrition
By Uji A. Iliyasu, Abuja
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, has called for a stronger role for the education sector in tackling child malnutrition through school feeding, school health, nutrition education and improved access to quality education.
Alausa made the call on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at the Ethiopia-Nigeria Leadership Exchange on Moving the Needle on Nutrition in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he stressed the need for stronger collaboration among government ministries and across the three tiers of government to ensure that nutrition interventions reach children and families at the grassroots.
Speaking during a session on Building the Multi-Sectoral Framework, the minister said tackling malnutrition required coordinated action across education, health, agriculture, planning and other relevant sectors, backed by adequate financing, clear responsibilities and effective monitoring.
He said the Nutrition 774 Initiative provided an opportunity to translate national nutrition priorities into practical interventions across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas, with attention focused on children, families and communities most in need.
Alausa said education was central to the fight against malnutrition because children’s nutrition, health, learning and overall development were closely interconnected.
He identified school feeding as one of the practical ways the education sector could improve children’s nutrition while encouraging regular school attendance.
He said linking school feeding with school participation could help address some of the barriers preventing children from enrolling in and remaining in school.
The minister also highlighted the integration of nutrition-related studies into Nigeria’s revised school curriculum, saying it would equip children with knowledge of healthy eating, nutrition, wellbeing and healthy lifestyles.
He said the Federal Ministry of Education’s proposed contribution to the Nutrition 774 Initiative included school feeding, school health, nutrition education and measures to strengthen access to quality education and school participation.
Alausa said the interventions were expected to form part of local government multisectoral plans of action for food and nutrition, with relevant education indicators proposed for inclusion in the initiative’s local government scorecard.
He stressed the importance of ensuring that all children had access to adequate nutrition and quality education, noting that keeping children in school, improving learning outcomes and creating supportive school environments could contribute to better health, nutrition and developmental outcomes.
The minister said the proposed interventions were aligned with the National Policy on Food and Nutrition, which seeks to increase school-feeding coverage from 33 per cent to 60 per cent of primary school children by 2035.
Alausa also called for greater attention to early childhood care and development beyond the first 1,000 days of life, stressing the need to sustain support throughout the wider period of early growth and development.
He further identified reliable and integrated data as essential for effective nutrition planning and delivery. Better integration of government data, he said, would enable authorities to identify children and communities requiring support, improve planning and determine whether interventions were reaching their intended beneficiaries.
The minister called for stronger implementation of national policies at the state and local government levels, with clear targets and appropriate monitoring mechanisms.
He said the proposed inclusion of education-related indicators in the Nutrition 774 local government scorecard would strengthen accountability and help track the education sector’s contribution to improved nutrition outcomes.
Alausa welcomed the opportunity to learn from Ethiopia’s experience in coordinating nutrition interventions and mobilising domestic resources, noting that lessons from the leadership exchange could inform Nigeria’s efforts when appropriately adapted to the country’s circumstances.
He reaffirmed the Federal Ministry of Education’s commitment to working with relevant ministries, state and local governments and development partners to advance education-related interventions under the Nutrition 774 Initiative..
The minister said improving children’s nutrition and access to quality education was essential to building a healthier, better-educated and more productive population, adding that stronger school-based nutrition interventions, effective school feeding, nutrition education and improved school health services would contribute significantly to child wellbeing and development.
He said the ministry would continue to align its policies and programmes with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on human capital development and creating better opportunities for children and young people.