By Felix Khanoba
The Minister of Education, Dr Morufu Olatunji Alausa, has called for greater involvement of schools in the Federal Government’s efforts to tackle child malnutrition across Nigeria.
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 advocated stronger collaboration among government ministries and the three tiers of government.
Speaking during a session on building a multi-sectoral framework, the minister identified school feeding, school health, nutrition education and improved access to quality education as major areas through which the education sector could contribute to the Nutrition 774 Initiative.
He said addressing malnutrition required a coordinated approach involving the education, health, agriculture, planning and other relevant sectors, backed by adequate funding, clearly defined responsibilities and effective monitoring mechanisms.
According to him, the Nutrition 774 Initiative provides an opportunity to implement Nigeria’s nutrition priorities at the grassroots by developing interventions across the country’s 774 local government areas.
Alausa noted that education should remain central to the response because children’s nutrition, health, learning and overall development are closely linked.
He identified school feeding as a practical intervention capable of improving children’s nutritional wellbeing while also encouraging school enrolment, attendance and retention.
The minister also pointed to the inclusion of nutrition-related content in Nigeria’s revised school curriculum, saying it would help expose children to healthy eating, personal wellbeing and healthy lifestyle choices.
Under the Federal Ministry of Education’s proposed contribution to Nutrition 774, school feeding, school health, nutrition education and initiatives aimed at improving access to quality education would be incorporated into local government food and nutrition action plans.
Education-related indicators are also being proposed for inclusion in the initiative’s local government scorecard to enable authorities to monitor progress and assess the sector’s contribution to improved nutrition outcomes.
Alausa stressed that ensuring children remain in school, receive quality learning and benefit from supportive school environments could improve their health, nutrition and overall development.
He said the proposed interventions were consistent with the National Policy on Food and Nutrition, which targets an increase in school-feeding coverage from 33 per cent to 60 per cent of primary school pupils by 2035.
The minister further called for greater attention to early childhood care and development beyond the first 1,000 days of life, noting that children continue to have important nutritional, health and developmental needs beyond that period.
He also identified reliable and integrated data as critical to effective nutrition planning. According to him, linking relevant government data would help authorities identify vulnerable children and communities, plan interventions more effectively and establish whether intended beneficiaries were being reached.
Alausa emphasised the need for national nutrition policies to be effectively implemented at the state and local government levels, with measurable targets and appropriate monitoring mechanisms.
He said incorporating education indicators into the Nutrition 774 local government scorecard would improve accountability and provide a means of tracking the education sector’s contribution to tackling malnutrition.
The minister also highlighted lessons Nigeria could draw from Ethiopia’s experience in coordinating nutrition programmes and mobilising domestic resources.
He, however, noted that any lessons from the leadership exchange would need to be adapted to Nigeria’s peculiar circumstances.
Alausa said reducing malnutrition sustainably would require stronger inter-sectoral cooperation, adequate financing and improved implementation arrangements.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Ministry of Education to working with relevant ministries, state governments, local authorities and development partners to implement education-related components of the Nutrition 774 Initiative.
The minister also said the ministry would continue to align its policies and programmes with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly in the area of human capital development and opportunities for children and young people.
He maintained that improving children’s nutrition alongside access to quality education would contribute to the development of a healthier, better-educated and more productive population.
Alausa said stronger school-based nutrition programmes, effective feeding schemes, nutrition education, improved school health services and closer cooperation among government agencies would be critical to improving child wellbeing and development.
He reiterated the ministry’s commitment to keeping education at the centre of Nigeria’s broader efforts to address malnutrition and ensuring that children have the opportunity to learn, grow and develop to their full potential.
