Stephen Angbulu
The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Tuesday, urged traditional and religious leaders to throw their full weight behind the Federal Government’s National Community Food Bank programme.
Tinubu warned that no eligible family must be left behind as the initiative rolls out nationwide in April.
Speaking at the National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit on Health 2026, held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, the First Lady said her Office was counting heavily on the moral authority and grassroots reach of traditional institutions and faith communities to drive the awareness and household sensitisation that government agencies alone could not achieve.
“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,” she said, addressing a gathering of emirs, obas, bishops, archbishops and other faith and traditional rulers drawn from across the country.
The programme, being developed in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, will operate through the nationwide network of Primary Health Centres.
Caregivers whose families have children under six years of age will be identified and registered, and will receive nutritional counselling alongside food vouchers redeemable for locally grown nutritious food at food banks to be established close to health centres.
Tinubu disclosed that the initiative would be bankrolled through a Trust Fund fed by willing private sector partners and public-spirited Nigerians, with oversight entrusted to credible Nigerians to ensure accountability.
The Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture are listed among the collaborating partners.
“This programme is designed to strengthen community nutrition support, improve access to safe and nutritious food for vulnerable children, and contribute meaningfully to the national response to ending child malnutrition,” she said.
She described the programme as a direct expression of President Bola Tinubu’s placement of health at the heart of the Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that without the well-being of the people, no amount of infrastructure or natural resource endowment could translate into national development.
The First Lady also officially flagged off the Advocacy and Awareness Campaign for the National Community Food Bank Programme and congratulated the National Health Fellows, health volunteers deployed one per local government area, on the commencement of their second cohort, wishing them success in their service to the nation.
For his part, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, stressed the urgency of Tuesday’s summit after a sobering assessment of the scale of Nigeria’s child malnutrition crisis.
“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, and as the World Bank mentioned, 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,” Pate said.
He characterised the Food Bank launch as a direct intervention against both acute and chronic malnutrition and praised the First Lady’s advocacy role, noting that much of her work on maternal and child health, tuberculosis, cancers and nutrition happened away from public view.
“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,” Pate added.
The minister used the occasion to deliver a sweeping progress report on the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, which President Tinubu launched 30 months ago.
He said the programme had driven mass immunisation campaigns reaching tens of millions of Nigerian children, the roll-out of the Human Papillomavirus vaccine at the highest national coverage rate, the revitalisation of thousands of Primary Health Centres in collaboration with state governments, the retraining of nearly 80,000 frontline health workers and the commencement of cancer treatment centres in Katsina, Enugu, Maiduguri and Sokoto.
Pate also announced that the federal government was preparing to launch an Inspiring Nigerian Micro Film Festival, a national storytelling movement set to commence in March, through which communities, traditional institutions, health workers, young people and National Health Fellows would share real stories of confronting health challenges and driving change.
The films would be showcased by state, with semi-final rounds and a national grand finale, with outstanding stories receiving recognition and awards.
He further disclosed that Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Government in December 2025 for up to $2bn in health funding over five years, with 10 per cent of that amount earmarked for faith-based health service providers, a deliberate recognition of Nigeria’s religious diversity and the deep penetration of faith institutions into communities underserved by public health infrastructure.
“The mosquito bites in the mosque and it bites in the church. Whether it’s HIV, TB, malaria, it doesn’t discriminate what faith you belong to,” Pate said.
Also speaking, the Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, on behalf of traditional leaders including the Ooni of Ife and the Sultan of Sokoto, reaffirmed their commitment to Nigeria’s health agenda.
He stressed that traditional institutions have a moral responsibility to promote positive health behaviours, combat misinformation and work with the government to address public health challenges.
The Emir urged that resolutions from the summit be translated into concrete actions at the community level to build healthier and more resilient Nigerian communities.
The summit, themed “The Role of Traditional and Religious Leaders in Advancing the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative,” also featured a compact signing ceremony in which traditional and religious leaders formally committed to championing health sector reforms within their domains.
According to the programme document obtained by our correspondent, the compact was anchored on three objectives: building awareness of the President’s health reform vision among community leaders, strengthening their role in promoting transparency and accountability in healthcare delivery, and securing their strategic partnership for locally grounded implementation of the reforms.
A panel dialogue session featured senior traditional rulers, including the Emir of Shonga, the Dein of Agbor and the Olowo of Owo, and was moderated by Prof. Pate.
The event was also addressed by the Shehu of Borno, HRH Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai Al-Amin El-Kanemi, who delivered opening remarks, while goodwill messages were delivered by the WHO Representative to Nigeria, Dr Pavel Ursu, the World Bank Country Director, Mathew Verghis, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Banigo Ipalibo Harry.
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