A Non-Governmental Organisation based in Gombe State, Alkali Agricultural Access Initiative, has called on the Federal Government to reintroduce the school feeding programme to boost school enrolment and tackle out-of-school children menace.
The NGO made the call as part of its advocacy for intensified efforts to tackle hunger and malnutrition among children.
Mr Jonah Alkali, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the NGO, made the call on Wednesday in Kaltungo town of Kaltungo Local Government Area of Gombe State.
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Alkali, while distributing food packs to 1,000 pupils at the Pilot Primary School, Kaltungo, said hunger remained a major challenge affecting school attendance in the country.
He said that the NGO, under its School Feeding Programme and Nutritional Advocacy, fed more than
7,000 pupils in 2024 as a way of creating awareness on the urgent need to tackle hunger and malnutrition among school children.
He added that efforts were needed from all stakeholders to address hunger, especially as it affects children to encourage them to go to school.
According to him, there is connection between hunger and out-of-school children menace, adding that one of the best tools to tackle enrollment challenge is to address hunger.
He stressed that “hunger affects every aspect of a child’s development, and that is why we all must rise against it.
“This is because a hungry child may not be in school or learn effectively even if he or she is in school.
In view of the impact of malnutrition and hunger on children in vulnerable communities, we must fight hunger within our capacity.
“This is why we are here to feed 1,000 school children through our home-grown feeding programme.
“We are using this to tell the world that there is urgent need to fight hunger so that pupils will not go to school hungry or go to bed on empty stomach.”
Alkali said no child deserved to be hungry or malnourished, as it is the right of every child to be fed and be taken good care of.
He commended the Federal Government’s school feeding initiative and called for reintroduction of the programme to boost school enrollment “and tackle the increasing cases of out-of-school children.”
He appealed to the Gombe State Government to domesticate the Federal Government’s school feeding programme to boost nutrition and reduce hunger among pupils.
Mrs Faustina Bitrus, the Head Teacher of the school, commended the group’s initiative, noting that “school feeding is key to improving pupils’ enrollment and boosting nutrition.”
Mercy Samuel, a pupil of Primary Six and the Head Girl of the school, said she was excited about the feeding, wishing that the exercise would be a continuous one.
Samuel said some pupils who stopped coming to school had resumed because the school management announced that an NGO was coming to share food.
She appealed to government at all levels to reintroduce the school feeding programme to support the pupils, adding that many missed classes because of hunger.
