Women Consortium of Nigeria advocates for law to back Home grown School Feeding Programme

Women Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON) has called on Nigerian Government to institutionalized the Home Grown School Feeding project for sustainability so that upcoming and succeeding governments will have no choice but to embrace and continue the project

Penpushing reports that, Olukunle Adeogun, the Project Coordinator in Ogun State, Olukunle Adeogun stated this at a Workshop organized by the Non-Governmental Organisation for Chief Executive Officers of Civil Society Organisations in Ogun State.

The workshop held in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital was aimed to update the Chief Executives on Women Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON’s) ongoing project on promoting accountability in the ogun home grown school feeding programme

Penpushing further reports that, Adeogun posited that the project should move beyond being a political party programme and urged the National Assembly to put necessary processes in place to institutionalize the project.

The non-partisan and non-religious organization said it is committed to the enforcement of women and children’s rights and the attainment of equality, development and peace, adding that it is working in conjunction with 3 other cohort members on the Ogun State School Feeding Project in advocating for a law to back up the ongoing School feeding programme, which is one of Government’s social investment programmes.

‘WOCON hereby reiterates that the Home Grown School Feeding project should move beyond being a political party programme and hereby urges the National  Assembly to put necessary processes in place to institutionalize the project for sustainability so that upcoming and succeeding governments will have no choice but to embrace and continue the project’

Penpushing also reports that, Adeogun in his presentation at the workshop reminded that the project has helped in boosting the nourishment of the children’s health in the State, increased the enrolment of pupils in public primary schools across the State, created jobs for thousands of women who serve as cooks and others in the supply chain and has assisted farmers to sell the raw produce in their farms.

The coordinator reported that local community monitors joined forces with government monitors for effectiveness in monitoring the activities of the project across the country, to ensure meals for pupils in classes 1-3 in public primary schools continue to be provided without hitches.

‘Having worked on the project for about 3 years and seeing the gains of the program for pupils of primary school children, WOCON is of the opinion that enabling laws to ensure sustainability should be put in place without further delay as this will help reduce out of school children population’, Adeogun emphasised.