School feeding ...

school feeding”.

Umar- Farouq further said: “A total of 3.1 million households are targeted for this intervention. Lagos and Ogun States are next ports of call before the programme moves to other states of the Federation.

“As noted earlier, we are working with the World Food Programme who are providing technical support while other agencies of government have been invited to provide an extra layer of monitoring.

“The ministry is using the opportunity of this modified program to collect and verify data with the support of CSOS and NGOS such as Actionaid, Budgit, Tracka, and CMDA”.

Speaking with BDSUNDAY, Salihu Hum, spokesperson to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, said the Ministry has adopted a new model which is in line with global best practices, especially as Covid-19 has forced the closure of schools all over the world.

“The current one is being undertaken in conjunction with the World Food Programme (WFP) which has deployed a similar model in the United Kingdom and the United States of America”.

Some documents made available to BDSUNDAY explained that through the Take-home Rations (THR) which was designed with the cooperation of the WFP, a voucher is issued to the parent of a participating child, who must be from a household registered in the National Social Register.

“The parent takes the voucher for verification by NYSC members at the school where the pupil is fed. After confirmation of all the relevant facts, the parent is issued the packaged food ration for their child or children. The parents go home with the raw foodstuff to cook for the child, which should last for four weeks.

“That is how the modified school feeding is. The FGN funds it, deliver the food items to the States, the states implement it, but with monitors from PTAS, CSOS, EFCC, ICPC, Police and community leaders, including clerics and the teachers of the pupils”.

Efforts to get the real figures spent by government were futile at the time of this report as the Schedule/ Contact Officer could not respond to questions sent to him