Alayeluwa Oba Dr. Moses Olawale Oyetola Fabiyi VI, Ilufemiloye I, the Onigbope of Igbope land in Oorelope Local Government Area, Oyo State, was among a delegation of Oyo State traditional rulers attending the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Summit in Abuja.
Other notable Oyo monarchs present included Oba Khalid Olabisi, the Okere of Saki land; HRM Oba Samuel Adebayo Adegbola (Ajobo Olurin I), the Eleruwa of Eruwa; and Oba Sunday Oladapo Oyediran Lagbami Osekun III, the Onpetu of Ijeru, among others.
The summit, held at the State House Banquet Hall, provided a platform for the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to urge traditional and religious leaders to support the federal government’s National Community Food Bank programme, which is set to roll out nationwide in April.
Speaking to the gathering, the First Lady emphasized the crucial role of traditional and religious institutions in mobilizing grassroots awareness. She said,
“We will be needing a lot of support from you, our revered traditional and religious leaders, to raise awareness and sensitise households to ensure no eligible family is left behind as we roll out the programme nationwide.”
The programme, being developed in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, Social Welfare, and NPHCDA, will operate through Nigeria’s network of Primary Health Centres.
Caregivers of children under six will be identified and registered, receiving nutritional counselling and food vouchers redeemable for locally grown nutritious food at food banks established near health centres.
Funding for the initiative will be provided through a Trust Fund contributed to by private sector partners and public-spirited Nigerians, with oversight entrusted to credible authorities.
The Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture are listed among the collaborating partners.
Highlighting the urgency of the initiative, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said:
“Almost 40 per cent of our children have stunted growth. Sometimes it starts from the womb. If the mother is malnourished, doesn’t have enough protein or calories, the child will be small for age, will have a higher chance of dying early, will not do well in school… The early childhood years are the most important, because by the time you are five or ten, it is too late. You can expand in size, but the brain is already developed.”
Prof. Pate described the Food Bank initiative as a direct intervention against both acute and chronic malnutrition and praised the First Lady’s advocacy work.
“We are eternally grateful to you, Your Excellency, First Lady. We also thank you for your leadership, for your support, for your encouragement, some of which is public, but a lot is not seen on the issues of health of mothers, of children, of those who are vulnerable,” he said.
The summit also provided updates on the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, launched by President Bola Tinubu, which has improved immunization coverage, rolled out HPV vaccines, revitalized thousands of Primary Health Centres, retrained nearly 80,000 frontline health workers, and initiated cancer treatment centres in Katsina, Enugu, Maiduguri, and Sokoto.
