Food Security: WFP to fight hunger in Nigeria with $2.5bn, 2.1 million beneficiaries captured

The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced its plan to spending $ 2.5 billion to fight hunger in Nigeria in the next five years. 

WFP Country Director, David Stevesson further disclosed that 2.1 million Nigerians have been captured as beneficiaries of the programme with the hope of expanding working with the minister of humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. 

In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Honourable Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Rasheed Olanrewaju Zubair, the movement was disclosed by Stevesson when he led a team of the United Nations, UN agency to visit the Minister, Dr Betta Edu. 

According to the statement, WFP also pledged to support President Tinubu’s Zero Hunger Programme under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

The WFP boss added that they will support the Federal Government’s humanitarian and poverty intervention efforts including the food security agenda and the Zero Hunger Programme among others. 

He said WFP is excited by the robust drive of President Tinubu’s government to eradicate poverty and reduce humanitarian crises in Nigeria and the new energy that Dr Betta Edu is bringing into space. 

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Stevesson said the Minister’s appointment was well-deserved, noting that she has immediately hit the ground running with her humanitarian and poverty response Programmes which he is committed to giving full support.

Meanwhile, the Minister lauded the WFP Country Director for the visit, informing him that there are over 133  million Nigerians affected by multidimensional poverty.

She stressed that WFP’s intervention of $ 2.5 billion for five years will address the hunger issue the country is facing. 

He appealed to the WFP to key into the Zero Hunger programme the Ministry has initiated to alleviate poverty. 

Edu maintained that Homegrown School Feeding is one aspect of the Zero Hunger Project, noting that the Ministry is working on different nutritional programmes that will target both pregnant women, children under five, school feeding, feeding of persons who are affected by humanitarian crises, aged and the persons of concern, as well as refugees.

“Part of the innovation which we are bringing on board is what we call a humanitarian hub because we want to create 774 of these humanitarian hubs in each local government across Nigeria, ” she added.