By Emmanuel Elebeke, Abuja

The Kebbi State Governor, Nasiru Idris says it is a taboo to some people in his state for children to eat egg.

And to overcome the challenge, he said his administration is keying into the Enhanced Access To Safe and Nutritious Diets Project, ENDSAND  of Global Alliance for Nutrition, GAIN to break the age long believe in the state that children eating egg is a taboo.

The State Governor, stated this yesterday at the official launch of Enhancing Access to Safe and Nutritious Diets by Global Alliance for Improved  Nutrition,  GAIN in Abuja.

The Governor, who was represented at the occasion by his Chief of Staff, Barr. Attahiru Machido said the state government is very prepared to collaborate with GAIN to nip the problem in the bud, saying that the project would enable them capture as many children as possible and become number one state that eliminated malnutrition in  the country.

“The Governor of Kebbi State is very very prepared, that is why we came with all implementation team.

“This means a lot to my state, this is a state where some people see it as a taboo for a child to eat an egg.

Today, out of two states and FCT chosen, Kebbi is one of them.

“This project will help us in breaking that taboo so that our children can start eating egg, have normal and healthy growth.

“We want to capture as many children as possible. We want to ensure that we become number one state that eliminated malnutrition in the country.”

On the role the state government would be play in the project, Machido said, “the government would be providing both financial and human support to ensure this program succeed.”

“The sustainability is that the state government is 100% behind it.

As long as this government remains, this program will be sustained and supported,” he added.

The ENDSAND project is a 5-year project that seeks to improve the dietry quality of bottom of the Pyramid households by increasing egg consumption amongst children.

The focus is mainly on young children aged six months to nine years in FCT, Kaduna and Kebbi states.

The projects strategic approach target’s both out-of-school and in-school children with a target of reducing malnutrition in the pilot states by 30% by 2026.

For in-school children, the project aims to leverage the Nigerian Social Investment Program (NSIP), specifically  the Home-Grown School Feeding Program targeting children from bottom of the pyramid households attending government primary schools in classes 1-3 and their out-of-school siblings aged 6-59 months of age.

Earlier in his address, the Country Director, GAIN Nigeria, Dr. Michael Ojo said the ENSAND project is intended to improve  the dietary quality of vulnerable children  from bottom of the pyramid Households through the National Home-Grown School Feeding Program in Kebbi, Kaduna and FCT by improving the supply and consumption of eggs.

He explained that the 5-year initiative is a core element of the GAIN country program portfolio focused on supporting the supply and demand for nutritious food a and ensuring healthier diets for all, especially the most vulnerable.

“We believe that the only way to achieve  this goal is to work together with parents including governments, businesses, academia, civil society and communities, working at local, country and global levels.

” We are aware that to improve the nutritional status of vulnerable children, we must work diligently, collaborate and tame a multi- sectoral approach.

“This is why in the design of the ENDSAND project, GAIN emphasized the need to work with all the critical egg value chain actors, including the Poutry Association of Nigeria, the NHHSFP, the host state governments, state lead egg aggregators and other line ministries to achieve the objective of this project.

” This project is not merely about filling empty stomachs, it about fuelling the dreams and aspirations of our nation’s most vulnerable. This is not a mere promise, it is a dedication towards leaving no one behind and ensuring that even the most marginalised and underserved  among us can thrive,”

In her goodwill message, the Minister of Health, represented by Director, and Head of Nutrition, Ladede

Kulabah-Yebisi said,  “the Ministry sees this project  as a very laudable one because Nigerian society is faced with triple burden of malnutrition, overweight and underweight and other high micro nutrients deficiency.

She said the Enhanced Access to Nutrition by GAIN will ensure that children between 6-9months old at least have access to egg, at least once a week, which will boost their protein intake because egg is rich in protein, fat and other minerals.

According to her, the project will ensure parents and caregivers have access to where they can get egg and also ensure the children grow well, learn well and grow healthy and contribute productively at the place of work.

In his own remarks, the minister of Budget and National Nationals Planning, Sent Atiku Bagudu lauded GAIN for the bold initiative aimed at fighting malnutrition in Nigeria.

Bagudu, who was represented by Mrs. Nelson Chito described Egg as the cheapest protein in the market, encouraged families that can afford it to feed their children with egg.

He also urged the organization to expand the project to other states to ensure that every Nigerian child has access to egg and other nutritious food.

On her side, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Betta Edu, represented by project manager, Hon. Maggrette Prince said that Home Grown School Meals program of government on which the ENDSAND project is anchored has the potentials through coordinated multisectoral and postulated efforts and partnership to contribute to enhancing food and nutrition security in the households and communities all over the country.

She said the administration of President Bola Tinubu  is committed to restructuring the program in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda towards ending poverty, reducing the number of out of school children and eliminating malnutrition in school aged children.

She called on domestic and international actors  and partners to address the school basket initiative, which she believed will help to enrich the future of our children.