Ten million children will be dewormed as part of the federal government’s school homegrown feeding initiative.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development will carry out the initiative in coordination with the Federal Ministry of Health.
At a training for federal and zonal officers held in Kano on Wednesday, August 31, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, declared the exercise open.
While there are 10 million beneficiaries across the 36 states, according to Sadiya, who was represented by Muhammad Nasiru Mahmoud, Special Assistant to the President on National Investment Program, 1,225,804 Kano students are currently enrolled in the homegrown school feeding programme, which aims to address the socioeconomic imbalance in Nigeria.
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Regardless of how well they are fed, children remain vulnerable to diseases, particularly parasites, said the minister. She added that the plan to deworm all of the students receiving school meals was developed by the ministry she oversees in coordination with the Ministry of Health to ensure the success of the programme.
According to Baba Aminu Zubair of the National Social Investment Program in Kano, enrollment was not as great at first since people were unaware of it, but as they realised its advantages, the numbers grew significantly.
He said;
“In addition, the state government is also feeding from primary four to six in the schools. From the last school census we had, we have an increase of over 700,000 pupils which currently we are working with the National Bureau for Statistics to see that this number has been translated into the programme so that they will also benefit.”
