WorldStage– Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Rauf Olatunji Alausa, has called for a stronger role for the education sector in tackling child malnutrition, identifying school feeding, school health, nutrition education and improved access to quality education as key interventions under the Nutrition 774 Initiative.
Dr. Alausa made the call at the Ethiopia–Nigeria Leadership Exchange on Moving the Needle on Nutrition in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he stressed the need for stronger collaboration among government ministries and across the three tiers of government to ensure that nutrition interventions reach children and families at the community level.
Speaking during a session on Building the Multi-Sectoral Framework on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, the Minister said tackling malnutrition requires coordinated action across education, health, agriculture, planning and other relevant sectors, supported by clear responsibilities, adequate financing and effective monitoring.
He noted that the Nutrition 774 Initiative provides an opportunity to translate national nutrition priorities into practical interventions across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas, with support targeted at children, families and communities that need it most.
According to the Minister, education is central to this effort because children’s nutrition, health, learning and overall development are closely interconnected.
Dr. Alausa identified school feeding as one of the practical ways the education sector can contribute to improving children’s nutrition while encouraging regular school attendance. He explained that linking school feeding with school participation could help address some of the barriers that prevent children from attending and remaining in school.
He also highlighted the integration of nutrition-related studies into Nigeria’s revised school curriculum as an important step towards equipping 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 strengthen access to quality education and school participation. These 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.
The Minister underscored the importance of ensuring that all children have access to adequate nutrition and the educational opportunities necessary for healthy growth and development, noting that education is an important component of the broader response to child malnutrition.
He stressed that keeping children in school, improving the quality of learning and creating supportive school environments can contribute to better health, nutrition and developmental outcomes.
The Ministry’s proposed interventions are aligned with the National Policy on Food and Nutrition, which aims to increase school-feeding coverage from 33 per cent to 60 per cent of primary-school children by 2035.
Dr. Alausa also called for greater attention to early childhood care and development beyond the first 1,000 days of a child’s life. He stressed the need to sustain support through the wider period of early growth and development, when children’s nutritional, health and developmental needs remain critical.
He further identified reliable and integrated data as essential to effective planning and delivery of nutrition interventions. According to him, better integration of relevant government data would help authorities identify children and communities requiring support, improve planning and determine whether interventions are reaching their intended beneficiaries.
The Minister stressed that national policies must be backed by effective implementation at state and local government levels, with clear targets and appropriate monitoring arrangements. He said the proposed inclusion of education-related indicators in the Nutrition 774 local government scorecard would strengthen accountability and help track the education sector’s contribution to improved nutrition outcomes.
Dr. Alausa also welcomed the opportunity to learn from Ethiopia’s experience in coordinating nutrition interventions and mobilising domestic resources. He noted that the leadership exchange provided Nigerian officials with an opportunity to examine approaches that could inform the country’s efforts, while stressing that relevant lessons must be adapted to Nigeria’s specific circumstances.
He emphasised that sustained progress in reducing malnutrition would require effective collaboration, appropriate financing and stronger implementation arrangements across the 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 assured Nigerians that 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.
Dr. Alausa said improving children’s nutrition and access to quality education is essential to building a healthier, better-educated and more productive population. He stressed that stronger school-based nutrition interventions, effective school feeding, nutrition education, improved school health services and closer multisectoral collaboration would contribute significantly to improved child wellbeing and development.He reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring that education remains an integral part of Nigeria’s response to malnutrition and to supporting initiatives that enable every Nigerian child to learn, grow, remain healthy and fulfil their potential.
