Senator Oluremi Tinubu Flags Off National Community Food Bank Campaign, Seeks United Front Against Child Malnutrition
Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has launched the National Advocacy and Awareness Campaign for the National Community Food Bank Programme, declaring that collective action will build “healthier and stronger generations of Nigerian children.”
The flag-off took place in Abuja during the 1st National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit, drawing key stakeholders from across the country’s health, traditional and faith communities.
Speaking at the event, the First Lady announced that her office would collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency to tackle child malnutrition nationwide. She disclosed that the National Community Food Bank Programme, scheduled for launch in April 2026, is designed to strengthen community-based nutrition support systems and improve access to safe, nutritious food for vulnerable children.
According to her, the initiative will also involve partnerships with institutions such as the Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture, alongside other development partners.
“The programme will operate through the nationwide network of Primary Health Centres to identify and register eligible families with children under six years old,” she explained. “Caregivers will receive counselling and food vouchers redeemable for nutritious, locally grown foods at designated community food banks located near the health centres.”
Senator Tinubu added that the initiative would be financed through a Trust Fund supported by private sector partners and well-meaning Nigerians, with credible individuals overseeing the fund to ensure transparency and accountability.
She emphasized that the success of the programme hinges significantly on the involvement of traditional and religious leaders, urging them to help raise awareness and mobilise households to ensure no eligible family is excluded as the rollout progresses across the country.
The First Lady also congratulated health volunteers, known as National Health Fellows, encouraging them as they embark on what she described as a journey of service, learning and capacity building for national development.
In his remarks, the Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, underscored the centrality of human capital to national growth. He noted that no natural resource could substitute for a healthy population, stressing that investment in the health and wellbeing of infants and children remains fundamental to Nigeria’s future.
Prof. Pate thanked Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving the inaugural Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit, describing it as evidence of the President’s recognition of their pivotal role in shaping public health outcomes. He also commended the First Lady for her sustained interventions in child and women’s health.
Also speaking at the summit, the Ooni of Ife, Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, expressed optimism that the gathering signaled a more practical and coordinated national approach to health challenges. He called for sustained follow-up actions and peer review mechanisms to consolidate gains from the summit.
Development partners, including the World Health Organization and the World Bank, highlighted the indispensable role of traditional and religious leaders in achieving universal health coverage, describing them as central to community engagement and trust-building efforts.
The advocacy campaign marks the beginning of a nationwide sensitisation drive, with the First Lady set to take the message to all six geo-political zones, starting with the North-East in Borno State.
The National Community Food Bank Programme is a joint initiative between the Office of the First Lady and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, aimed at mobilising communities, strengthening oversight, and delivering sustainable nutritional support to Nigeria’s most vulnerable children.
