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ECOWAS: FAO Unveils Feeding Programme For 1 Million Malnourished Sokoto Children

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FAO Unveils Feeding Programme

ECOWAS: FAO Unveils Feeding Programme For 1 Million Malnourished Sokoto Children

ECOWAS: FAO unveils feeding programme for 1 million malnourished Sokoto children. Mr Dominique further stated that the project was designed to improve food security and nutrition among vulnerable households

The Country Representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Koffy Dominique, has reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to achieving zero-hunger in the country.

Speaking in Sokoto State on Saturday during an official engagement in the Tangaza Local Government Area of the state, Mr Dominique noted that FAO was targeting one million malnourished children for support in the state.

He said, “As part of its pilot intervention, FAO is collaborating with the Sokoto State ministry of health to distribute 21 metric tonnes of Tom Brown, a highly nutritious food, to 1,750 children aged 6 to 59 months.

These are children recently discharged from Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) at the Targeted Supplementary Feeding Programme (TSFP) and Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) centres. The Tom Brown provides essential nutrients to help them gradually transition to normal family meals, preventing a relapse into acute malnutrition.’’

Mr Dominique further stated that the project was designed to improve food security and nutrition among vulnerable households, particularly pregnant and breastfeeding women, young girls, and children under five.

He stated that with funding from the Government of France, FAO was partnering with the state government to implement food and nutrition assistance programmes by increasing access to nutritious food and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

He stated, “To further strengthen food security and nutritional awareness, FAO is working with the Sokoto State Ministries of Agriculture and Basic and Secondary Education to establish school gardens in four selected schools across the state. These gardens will serve as educational platforms to enhance agricultural knowledge, practical gardening skills, and nutrition awareness among school-aged children.’’

The country representative also said that the FAO was piloting the programme in Sokoto state, with plans to expand it across the seven states in North-West Nigeria.

“In spite of a slight improvement in security, Nigeria still has 30.6 million displaced persons across the country. In the North-West alone, 11 million displaced persons account for 35 per cent of the national figure,” he said.

Mr Dominique emphasised that tackling food insecurity and malnutrition remained a top priority for FAO.

FAO Unveils Feeding Programme

FAO Unveils Feeding Programme

“We are committed to supporting all North-West states in boosting food production and fighting malnutrition,” he assured.

The Executive Secretary of the Sokoto State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SSPHCDA), Larai Tambuwal, reaffirmed the state government’s full support and commitment to the initiative.

She also commended traditional and religious leaders in the pilot areas for their cooperation in ensuring the programme’s success.

The pilot intervention commenced in Tangaza and Rabah LGAs, with plans for further expansion across the state’s 23 LGAs.

Economy

Goodluck Jonathan Wins 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize

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Goodluck Jonathan Wins 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize

Goodluck Jonathan wins 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize. According to him, Mr Jonathan becomes the third person and the first African leader to win this category of the award.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has been nominated as the winner of the 2025 Founders Sunhak Peace Award.

Ikechukwu Eze, special adviser to Mr Jonathan disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Mr Eze said that the award would be presented to the former president by Sunhak Peace Prize Foundation in Seoul, South Korea on April 11.

According to him, Mr Jonathan becomes the third person and the first African leader to win this category of the award, after former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon and Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen.
Mr Eze said that this year’s award ceremony, the sixth in the series, would take place in Seoul on April 11, where Mr Jonathan and other laureates would be decorated.

He quoted the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee as stating that the honour was in recognition of Jonathan’s consistent mediations and pro-democracy activities to bring peace to the African continent.

This, according to him, is especially through the instrumentality of the various associations he chairs, including Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF), West African Elders’ Forum (WAEF) and International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP).

The Sunhak Peace Award and the Sunhak Peace Prize are two categories of awards presented biennially by the committee to individuals and organisations acknowledged as worthy contributors to world peace and human development.

Prominent past winners of the second category, which is the Sunhak Peace Prize, included former Senegalese President Macky Sall and President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina.

Others were Dame Sarah Gilbert, Co-developer of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine as well as GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.

Mr Eze said that Mr Jonathan would be receiving his award alongside three individuals who were recently announced by José Barroso, the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee Chair and former President of the European Commission, as winners in the other category.

Goodluck Jonathan

Goodluck Jonathan

They include Patrick Awuah Jr., founder and president of Ashesi University in Ghana, Hugh Evans, co-founder and chief executive officer of Global Citizen and Wanjira Mathai, Regional Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute.

Mr Eze also quoted the founder of the prize, Dr Hak Ja Han Moon, as stating in her pre-event address that the lives of the laureates had been an inspiring testament to how peace could be realised through concrete actions and cultural transformation.

“Over the past decade, the Sunhak Peace Prize has identified and honoured individuals.

“Individuals who have dedicated themselves to addressing urgent global challenges based on its three core values: respect for human rights, reconciliation of conflicts and ecological conservation,’’ Ms Moon said.

Established in 2015, the biennial Sunhak Peace Prize honours individuals and organisations that have shown extraordinary services to global peace and well-being in any of the three areas.

The areas are sustainable human development, conflict resolution or ecological conservation.

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Economy

Government To Train, Empower Youths For Agricultural Revolution In Kwara

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AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq

Government To Train, Empower Youths For Agricultural Revolution In Kwara

Government to train, empower youths for agricultural revolution In Kwara. He also said that the collaboration would help to create employment opportunities for the youths.

The Kwara ministry of youth development has said that it will train the youths and also empower them financially to drive the planned revolution in agriculture.

The commissioner, Shehu Ndanusa, said this on Monday when he paid a courtesy visit to the management of the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) in Ilorin.

Mr Ndanusa said that the ministry needed to build the capacity of the youths in agribusiness, rural development, and entrepreneurship to create more job opportunities for young people in the state.
He further said that the state needs the support of the institute for agripreneurs through skill acquisition and business management training.

According to him, ARMTI is known for expertise in agricultural training and rural development, hence collaborating with the state government will help equip youths with practical skills for self-reliance.

Responding, the executive director of ARMTI, Dr Olufemi Oladunni, said that the youths remain the major focus of ARMTI.

Mr Oladunni also said that the agency trains youths, gives them starter packs and follows them up to ascertain participants are well established.

Empower Youths

Empower Youths

He said that the institute was prepared to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the ministry, in order to formalise the collaboration.

He emphasised that the partnership would aim at providing young Nigerians with essential training, technical support, and entrepreneurship opportunities in the agricultural sector.

He also said that the collaboration would help to create employment opportunities for the youths, boost food security and drive rural economic growth.

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Crime

NAFDAC Seals 4 Water Factories Over Poor Manufacturing Practices

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NAFDAC

NAFDAC Seals 4 Water Factories Over Poor Manufacturing Practices

NAFDAC seals 4 water factories over poor manufacturing practices. She warned producers in the area to be cautious of producing substandard products.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)  has invited the operation managers of four table water production factories for failing to meet good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards.

The factories in question include Oral Water and Logistics Limited, producers of Yireh Yaweh Table Water in Jikwoyi, and Le-Starlight Table Water in Jikwoyi, Abuja.

Others include Daraja Table Water and Iris Table Water and Beverages, producers of Siris Table Water, both located in the Karshi, Nasarawa axis of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

During its enforcement operations in Abuja on Monday, NAFDAC also sealed and locked the four factories in question.

Wilberforce-Glory Albert, the subunit head of NAFDAC’s Mararaba Office, also known as Greater FCT, explained that the agency initiated the raid due to concerns over the quality of water produced by these factories.

She stated that all the facilities sealed had poor GMP practices, necessitating immediate action to rectify the situation.

Mrs Albert pointed out that several of these factories lacked pallets for stacking their finished products, and some did not have a production manager to ensure GMP compliance.

She also highlighted that some facilities were operating without licenses, lacked proper packaging materials, had no building lights, and had staff that were not properly kitted, all of which contributed to the poor GMP.

“These are the reasons we sealed the facilities and invited them for further investigation at NAFDAC’s office,” Mrs Albert said.

She further disclosed that the raid in this area marked the beginning of broader enforcement actions, as NAFDAC had established a new office to oversee Mararaba, Keffi, Nyanya, Jikwoyi, and Kurudu.

NAFDAC

NAFDAC

“This new office falls under the FCT Directorate and is known as “Greater FCT.”
Mrs Albert warned producers in the area to be cautious of producing substandard products, emphasising that the law would catch up with those who continued to operate improperly.

“This raid will continue. We’ve just started, and we won’t stop until these factories comply with GMP standards.

“There is no hiding place for producers of substandard products, everyone must do the right thing, obtain the necessary licenses, and produce under proper conditions,” she stated.

Mrs Albert also revealed that some of the sealed facilities claimed to be registered with NAFDAC but were unable to provide the required documentation, which was another reason for their invitation to the agency.
She urged them to bring all relevant documents to NAFDAC’s office.

The NAFDAC team leader added that the factories would be required to pay for any sanctions imposed by the agency.

“If their licenses had expired, they would also need to pay for renewals and investigation charges.”

NAFDAC emphasised its commitment to investigating and taking action against any other illegal activities being carried out by these factories.

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