Skip to main content

Food Security; World Food Programme To Fight Hunger in Nigeria With $2.5Billion


....2.1 Million Beneficiaries Already Captured.


The World Food Programme, WFP, has pledged to support President Tinubu’s Zero Hunger Programme under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.


Country Director of WFP, David Stevesson, made this known Tuesday when he led a team of the United Nations, UN agency to visit the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu in her office.


Stevesson disclosed that 2.1 million Nigerians have already been captured as beneficiaries of the program with the hope to expand working with the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.


He pledged WFP's support to the Federal Government's Humanitarian and Poverty intervention efforts including the food security agenda and the Zero Hunger Programme among others. 


According to him, the Organization is excited by the robust drive of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu's government to eradicate poverty and reduce humanitarian crises in Nigeria and the new energy which the Minister Dr. Betta Edu is bringing into the space. The hope to accomplish a lot together.


Stevesson described Dr. Edu's appointment as Minister as a well-deserved, noting that she has immediately hit the ground running with her humanitarian and poverty response Programmes which he is committed to give full support.


"I've been very impressed in such a short time to hear about the Minister's leadership, putting together the strategy for the Ministry.


"We talked about zero hunger, we talked about the humanitarian hubs in every local government area in the country, we talked about the world food programs, the potential to support those hubs through buying food locally and also assisting in the cash transfer and food.  These are very impressive"


"Let me announce here that the World Food Programme is committed to spending $2.5Billion to Fight Hunger in Nigeria in the next five years", the WFP boss said. 


Responding, Dr. Edu commended the WFP Country Director for the visit and the kind comments about her.


The Minister informed Stevesson that "there are over 133million people in Nigeria affected by  multidimensional poverty, stressing that WFP's intervention of $2.5Billion for five years will go a long way to address some of the biggest challenges the country is facing, which is hunger"


According to the Minister, "Zero Hunger" is one of the projects her Ministry has initiated as part of poverty and humanitarian response efforts, and appealed to the WFP to key into it by working with the Ministry to achieve results.


Edu explained that  Homegrown School Feeding is one aspect of the Zero Hunger Project, as the Ministry will be working on different nutritional programs that will target both pregnant women, children under age five, school feeding, feeding of persons who are affected by humanitarian crises, aged and persons of concern, "including refugees that have found themselves within our space."


"We have over 80,000 persons as refugees presently in Nigeria. In just my home State (CRS), there are over 40,000 refugees and these are just those who are registered.


"Part of the innovation which we are bringing on board is what we call humanitarian hub because we want to create 774 of these humanitarian hubs in each local government across Nigeria." she added.


Rasheed Olanrewaju Zubair, (ANIPR)

Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Honourable Minister, MHAPA. 

13/09/2023

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Engr. Jerome Egbe Visits NSCDC Command for Strategic Partnership on Public Utilities

  The Special Adviser to the Governor of Cross River State on Public Utilities, Engr. Dr. Jerome Egbe, KSM, today, October 8, 2025, paid a courtesy visit to the Commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Cross River Command, Mr. Brown Charles, in Calabar.  The visit centered on establishing a strategic partnership to protect and secure public utilities across the state from vandals and criminal elements. During the meeting, Engr. Egbe emphasized the importance of safeguarding all critical public infrastructure and ensuring close collaboration between the Ministry of Public Utilities and the NSCDC in achieving the Governor’s vision for a sustainable and secure state. He also inspected the state of the Command’s facilities and sympathized with the personnel over the recent rainstorm that destroyed parts of the roofing, leaving the building flooded and disrupting operations. Engr. Egbe conveyed the administration’s sympathy and reiterated Governor Bassey O...
1 comment
Read more

Engr. Egbe Commends Governor Otu for Flag-Off of Subsidized Mini Tractors Distribution

  The Special Adviser to the Governor of Cross River State on Public Utilities, Engr. Dr. Jerome Egbe, KSM, has commended the Executive Governor of Cross River State, His Excellency, Senator (Apostle) Prince Bassey Edet Otu, for flagging off the distribution of subsidized mini tractors to farmers’ cooperatives in the state.  The event, which took place today, October 10, 2025, at the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development, marks another significant step in the Governor’s agricultural transformation agenda. Engr. Egbe described the initiative as a strategic form of public utility empowerment that will serve as a catalyst for accelerating food production and achieving food sufficiency across the state.  He noted that such interventions demonstrate the Otu-led administration’s commitment to empowering rural farmers, creating employment opportunities, and ensuring food security for all Cross Riverians. He further thanked the Governor for his admini...
Post a Comment
Read more

​UNICROSS Announces 2026/2027 Post-UTME Screening, Introduces 19 New Programmes

​The University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) has officially announced the commencement of its First Choice Admission Screening Exercise for the 2026/2027 academic session . The university has also unveiled 19 newly approved undergraduate academic programmes across its campuses. ​According to an official notice signed by the University Registrar, Dr. (Mrs) Catherine Ndifon Osai, eligible candidates include UTME applicants who chose UNICROSS as their First Choice and scored 150 and above in the 2026 UTME. Candidates who did not initially choose the university as their first choice can also apply by changing their institution to UNICROSS via the JAMB portal . ​Newly Approved Programmes & Campus Locations ​Prospective students are advised to note the campus locations where their chosen courses are domiciled before registering: Calabar Campus 1. Faculty of  Architecture Department of Architecture ,  Department of Interior Architecture Design, Department of Landscape Archi...
1 comment
Read more