NRCS inaugurates Africa zero hunger drive to fight malnutrition
By Our Correspondent
The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) has inaugurated the Africa Zero Hunger Initiative, aimed at strengthening nutrition efforts and supporting vulnerable Nigerians facing food insecurity and malnutrition nationwide.
Hajia Laylah Outhman, NRCS Malnutrition Ambassador, stated in her keynote that recent reports indicated that approximately 25 million Nigerians experienced food insecurity annually, with children under five particularly vulnerable to stunting and wasting.
Represented by Mrs Gbubemi Uba, NRCS General Manager, Fundraising and Resource Mobilisation, Outhman said that malnutrition was not merely a health issue, but a developmental crisis affecting education, productivity, and national economic growth.
Outhman said the initiative was both symbolic and practical, designed to ensure every Nigerian child received at least one nutritious meal daily, while promoting community-driven, low-cost, sustainable interventions to combat hunger.
“Nigeria is blessed with fertile land, abundant resources, and resilient people, yet millions, especially children and mothers, continue to suffer from hunger and malnutrition, which this initiative seeks to address immediately,” she stated.
The ambassador explained that NRCS previously inaugurated mothers’ and papas’ clubs to teach families nutrition skills, emphasising that empowering mothers strengthened households and, consequently, contributed to national stability and development.
Outhman urged government agencies to integrate the mothers’ club model into national nutrition policies and encouraged private-sector investment in food fortification, school feeding programmes, and community nutrition interventions across Nigeria.
She also called on donors, partners, and media organisations to support and scale the NRCS model, amplify success stories, and recognise that ending hunger required collective responsibility from all Nigerians.
Mrs Gloria Kunyenga, Programme Coordinator, International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), commended NRCS for inaugurating the zero hunger campaign, emphasising collaboration as essential to reaching malnourished communities across Nigeria and Africa.
She highlighted that more than 282 million people in Africa were undernourished, calling for climate-smart, community-driven solutions, strengthened partnerships, and government support to address malnutrition and its socio-economic impacts at the source.
Dr Abubakar Kende, Secretary-General, NRCS, explained that the programme addressed the cyclical nature of shocks and crises through early action, long-term development, rehabilitation of water points, livelihood recovery, and nutrition-sensitive, climate-smart agricultural practices.
Kende added that integrating anticipatory and shock-responsive social protection mechanisms ensured communities were prepared for climate and socio-economic shocks, safeguarding sustainable livelihoods and building resilience against hunger and malnutrition nationwide.
The inauguration attracted several partners, including the British Red Cross (BRC), reinforcing multi-stakeholder collaboration to achieve the initiative’s goal of ending hunger in Nigeria.(https://newsatlarge.ng)