We Want To Solve The Problem Of Malnutrition And Low Enrollment In Schools

Описание: ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY,  PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL HGSF STRATEGIC PLAN, THE ‘GLOBAL SCHOOL FEEDING SOURCEBOOK AND THE INAUGURATION OF THE NATIONAL COORDINATING TEAM - THEME: “STIMULATING SOCIO-ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH THE NATIONAL HOME GROWN SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAM”, ON THURSDAY, 9TH OF JUNE 2016



Protocols



Good Morning,



We are gathered here today seeking solutions to some of the most intricate problems that face children in Nigeria today.

At once, we want to solve the problem of malnutrition and low enrollment in schools. These twin issues affect an estimated twenty million or more children in Nigeria. Such a stark statistic creates an uneasiness for anyone concerned with public education issues.

We cannot, however, let the situation rob us of the proper response required, which is to take resolute action. This event, therefore, is an attempt to overcome the burden that such stark figures create.

The Strategy we are here to launch is indeed a well-thought-out and articulated plan of action on this issue. It will ensure that government at federal, state and local levels work together in a highly coordinated fashion that turns these ideas into a reality and brings real change to the lives of twenty million children and creates the multiplier effect on the local economies in communities where these schools are located by boosting agriculture, entrepreneurship and employment.

This programme, like the other social investment schemes already articulated by the President as recently in his May 29 national broadcast, is unprecedented in the history of our nation in scale and impact, and therefore deserves an unalloyed determination for careful implementation. This might mean a little more time to guarantee effective delivery, but without a doubt, we are convinced and certain that our promises to the Nigerian people will become a reality very soon.

The Home Grown School Feeding Programme has four main benefits: it will improve school enrolment and completion, and curb the current dropout rates from primary school, estimated at 30% and thereby also reduce child labour.

It will improve child nutrition and health. As a result of poverty, many children have poor nutrition and a worrying health status, which affects learning outcomes. The programme aims to address this.

It will also increase local agricultural production. This will not only increase production but also provide a structural demand for agricultural produce and thus create local economies that have a ready-made market for their produce and guaranteed profit.

Finally, it will create jobs, which will help lift families below the poverty line over that line and into a brighter future.

We will work hard to ensure that all these benefits are not just a good pitch but become real and bringing desirable change in the lives of our people and in the midst of our communities.

However, the strategic plan will only work when we imbibe a new level of cooperation between the federal, state and local levels of governments. It is said that all politics is local. So too development! We therefore recognize the fact that these plans must have specific interpretations in the specific communities. It is called “Home Grown School Feeding” for a reason. It must be owned by the people for whom it has been designed.

On its part, the Federal Government has taken responsibility for the provision of the funding and also secured sound technical support. Yet the Federal Government is just one partner in a value-chain of governance, if you will, that will also include development partners, financial institutions, educational institutions and civil society groups. It is the tying of these efforts into a cohesive whole that today’s workshop aims to achieve.



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The official YouTube Channel for Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, Nigerian Lawyer and Politician who served as the Vice President of Nigeria from the 29th of May 2015 to the 29th of May 2023. Before this, he served as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State from 1999 to 2007.

With a background in law and governance, he currently chairs the Climate Action Platform for Africa and serves as a Global Advisor for the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. He's also the Guardian of the Timbuktoo Africa Innovation Foundation and Chair of Future Perspectives.

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