Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has officially launched a Homegrown School Feeding Programme aimed at increasing school enrollment, curbing child hunger, and improving retention and completion rates among pupils in the state.
The launch took place at Dan-Turai Primary School in Gusau, where the governor symbolically shared a meal with schoolchildren, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to tackling the state’s out-of-school children crisis.
Zamfara remains one of Nigeria’s states with the highest number of out-of-school children, a situation compounded by poverty, insecurity, and inadequate educational infrastructure.
“Our commitment to reform includes initiatives to combat sector decay and foster partnerships, such as with the World Bank through the AGILE programme and with UNICEF,” Governor Lawal said during the flag-off.
He added that a technical committee had been established in collaboration with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to identify out-of-school children across all 14 local government areas and reintegrate them into the school system.
“The school feeding program, which we are flagging off today, is part of the emergency response initiatives to promote enrollment and retention of pupils in schools while fighting hunger and malnutrition,” he explained.
The initiative is being implemented in partnership with two non-governmental organisations—FINPACT Development Foundation and the International Center for Economic Development (ICED).
According to the governor, FINPACT will sponsor the feeding of 1,000 pupils across Gusau, Maru, Anka, and Talata Mafara, while ICED will support feeding for 3,300 pupils in Gusau, Talata Mafara, and Shinkafi.
“I charge all relevant stakeholders and other donor agencies to explore more ways of providing more activities and programmes. This will not only enhance our commitment to the provision of quality and inclusive education, but it will reduce to the barest minimum the menace of out-of-school children, so that together we can make our State a shining example,” Lawal stated.
Commissioners for Education and Humanitarian Affairs, Wadatau Madawaki and Salisu Musa, lauded the programme, describing it as a turning point in addressing hunger, illiteracy, and early school dropouts in the state.
The pilot phase of the school feeding programme targets over 4,000 pupils in five local government areas: Gusau, Talata Mafara, Anka, Maru, and Shinkafi.
