The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition has commenced the Enhanced Access to Safe and Nutritious Diets (ENDSAND) to improve school feeding programmes.
According to the Country Director, Dr Michael Ojo, the ENDSAND project would improve the dietary quality of vulnerable children from poor households through the National Home-Grown School feeding programme in Kebbi, Kaduna and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by improving the supply and consumption of eggs.
The five-year ENDSAND initiative is a core element of the GAIN country programme focusing on supporting the supply and demand of nutritious foods and ensuring healthier diets for all especially the vulnerable.
What He Said
- “We believe that the way to achieve this goal is to work together with parents including governments, businesses, academia, and civil society at local, country and global.”
- “This is why in the design of the ENSAND project, GAIN emphasized the need to work with all the critical egg value chain actors including the Poultry Association of Nigeria, National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, NHGSFP, the host state governments, state lead egg aggregators and other line Ministries to achieve the objectives of the project.”
Previous situation
According to the chief of staff of the Kebbi state Governor, Mr Attahiru Machido, there is an age-long belief that it is taboo for children to eat eggs.
This has prevented children from having normal, and healthy growth. According to him, this project will ensure the children grow well, learn well, grow healthy and contribute productively at their place of work.
What the Ministry of Health says
The director of Nutrition under the Ministry of Health has said the ministry sees the project as a laudable one because Nigerian society is faced with a triple burden of malnutrition, overweight and underweight and other high micronutrient deficiencies.
According to him, the projects will ensure parents and caregivers have access to where they can get eggs.
The Global Alliance For Improved Nutrition, GAIN, is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2022 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition.
