The Minister of Education, Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa, has called for a stronger role for the education sector in Nigeria’s fight against child malnutrition, advocating expanded school feeding, school health services and nutrition education across the country’s 774 local government areas.
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 said tackling malnutrition required coordinated action by the education, health, agriculture, planning and other relevant sectors.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, the minister spoke during a session on “Building the Multi-Sectoral Framework,” where he stressed the need for clear responsibilities, adequate financing and effective monitoring of nutrition interventions.
He said the Nutrition 774 Initiative provides an opportunity to translate Nigeria’s national nutrition priorities into practical interventions across all 774 local government areas, particularly for children, families and communities most in need.
Alausa said education was central to the fight against malnutrition because children’s nutrition, health, learning and overall development were closely linked.
He identified school feeding as one of the most practical ways the education sector could improve children’s nutrition while also encouraging school attendance and participation.
According to him, linking school feeding with school participation could help remove some of the barriers that prevent children from enrolling in and remaining in school.
The minister also highlighted the integration of nutrition related studies into Nigeria’s revised school curriculum, saying it would equip children with knowledge of healthy eating, nutrition, wellbeing and healthy lifestyles.
The Federal Ministry of Education’s proposed contribution to the Nutrition 774 Initiative includes school feeding, school health, nutrition education and measures to improve access to quality education and strengthen school participation.
The interventions are expected to form part of local government multisectoral plans of action for food and nutrition, with relevant education indicators proposed for inclusion in the initiative’s local government scorecard.
Alausa stressed that ensuring children have access to adequate nutrition and quality education was essential to their healthy growth and development.
He said keeping children in school, improving the quality of learning and creating supportive school environments could contribute to better health, nutrition and developmental outcomes.
The ministry’s proposed interventions are aligned with the National Policy on Food and Nutrition, which seeks to increase school feeding coverage from 33 per cent to 60 per cent of primary school children by 2035.
The minister also called for greater attention to early childhood care and development beyond the first 1,000 days of life.
He said support should be sustained through the wider period of early growth and development, when children’s nutritional, health and developmental needs remain critical.
Alausa further identified reliable and integrated data as essential to effective nutrition planning and intervention delivery.
He said better integration of government data would enable authorities to identify children and communities requiring support, improve planning and determine whether interventions were reaching their intended beneficiaries.
The minister stressed that national policies must be backed by effective implementation at the state and local government levels, with clear targets and appropriate monitoring mechanisms.
He said the proposed inclusion of education indicators in the Nutrition 774 local government scorecard would strengthen accountability and enable authorities to track the education sector’s contribution to improved nutrition outcomes.
Alausa welcomed the opportunity to learn from Ethiopia’s experience in coordinating nutrition interventions and mobilising domestic resources, saying lessons from the leadership exchange could inform Nigeria’s approach.
He, however, stressed that such lessons would need to be adapted to Nigeria’s specific circumstances.
According to him, sustained progress in reducing malnutrition would require stronger collaboration, appropriate financing and effective implementation across relevant sectors.
The minister reaffirmed the Federal Ministry of Education’s commitment to working with relevant ministries, state governments, local government authorities and development partners to advance education related interventions under the Nutrition 774 Initiative.
He also said the ministry would continue to align its policies and programmes with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on human capital development and creating better opportunities for children and young people.
Alausa said improving children’s nutrition and access to quality education was essential to building a healthier, better educated and more productive population.
He reiterated the ministry’s commitment to ensuring that education remains an integral part of Nigeria’s response to malnutrition, with stronger school feeding, nutrition education, school health services and multisectoral collaboration helping more children to learn, grow and fulfil their potential.
