The Federal Government of Nigeria has begun efforts to enhance the Nigerian Home Grown School Feeding Programme by partnering with the Partnership for Child Development (PDC) and Imperial College, London. This move comes as part of President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Action plans, aimed at restructuring and improving the program's effectiveness.
The initiative, announced by the senior special assistant to the president of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme, Yetunde Adeniji, includes a Value for Money Study. This study seeks to estimate the cost of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, assess its multi-sectoral benefits, and evaluate its impact on socio-economic and human capital development in the country.
Adeniji emphasized that the study will focus on improving the level of school feeding within states and will help evaluate the program's challenges and effectiveness. The research will be conducted in collaboration with local and foreign experts, led by Prof. Lesley Drake of PCD Imperial College, London, and will involve data collection from various stakeholders, including schools, state ministries, cooks, farmers, and community members.
The Value for Money Study will first be launched in Kaduna and Osun states and will subsequently extend to one state from each geopolitical zone, covering all 36 states by the end of the year. The program's implementation will involve collaboration with teachers, principals, traditional rulers, and community members, with full monitoring by state governments. The study aims to provide empirical data to guide the government in scaling up investment in the school feeding program, ensuring transparency, accountability, and improved implementation.
