An educated mind is an empowered mind. Knowledge is one of our most powerful tools in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. Achieving hunger-free communities requires more than just providing food; it demands a deep understanding of nutrition and nourishment.
For the past six years, the No Hunger Food Bank (NHFB) Secretariat has committed its expertise to tackling the significant burden of malnutrition in Africa, particularly in Nigeria. From the heart of Abuja, NHFB, or No Hunger Initiatives (NHIs), is an impact-driven organization dedicated to improving how communities understand and practice nutrition. Our mission goes beyond food distribution; we focus on equipping the most vulnerable mothers, teenagers, adolescents, families, and communities with the knowledge and behavioural changes necessary to combat malnutrition and mitigate its devastating societal effects.
Why Does Nutrition Education Matter for No Hunger Food Bank’s NAFHES Strategy?
The primary goal of NHFB’s nutrition education programme is to reinforce positive dietary behaviours that promote long-term health among Nigeria’s economically disadvantaged families. It’s not just about providing information; it’s about fostering community-shared and nutrition-responsive motivation, skills-building, and confidence-inspiring steps in under-served communities to make lasting health security changes. NHFB’s programmes with a focus on effective nutrition education serve multiple purposes:
- Correcting misinformation that may contribute to poor dietary habits among our targeted beneficiaries who are predominantly Hausa-speaking.
- Introducing evidence-based, community-shared, and research-backed knowledge that enhances Indigenous food choices and overall well-being.
Much like a double-edged sword, NHFB’s nutrition education programmes are both corrective and trans-formative tools. They are powerfully designed to shift community mindsets and drive meaningful dietary changes, ensuring that our beneficiaries’ communities don’t just survive but thrive.
According to the National Food Consumption Survey (NFCMS) 2021, 33.8% of children under five years old in Nigeria suffer from chronic undernutrition (stunting), while 25.5% are underweight. Additionally, 31% of 6 – 59 months children and 23% of women of reproductive age (15 – 49 years) are anemic, largely due to iron deficiency. These alarming figures underscore the critical need for targeted nutrition interventions, such as those spearheaded by No Hunger Initiatives, to address the root causes of malnutrition and improve health outcomes across the country.
Bridging Knowledge with Action
However, knowledge alone is not enough. Simply informing or educating Abuja and northern Nigeria’s most vulnerable population about proper nutrition does not automatically lead to improved dietary habits. The true impact is achieved when this evidence-based nutrition education translates concretely into actions, where the targeted population actively incorporates healthier practices into their daily lives.
For instance, teaching the most vulnerable families to grow and consume dark green, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables strengthens their immunity against infectious diseases. Similarly, learning safe food storage techniques reduces nutrient loss, ultimately improving household food security.
At No Hunger Initiatives (NHIs), our approach to nutrition education involves integrating it with sustainable interventions. One such programme is the Vertical Backyard Farming for Family Nutrition Needs (VerT2FAMNN)–a project that addresses acute anaemic deficiency and chronic malnutrition by fostering dietary diversity by equipping internally displaced female-headed households with the skills and tools to produce food, generate income, adapt to climate variability, reduce communal dependency, and build resilience against current and future hunger crises. Programmatically, the VerT2FAMMNN project is an innovative initiative that promotes vertical farming, a sustainable method of growing crops in vertically stacked layers. This approach maximizes space, reduces water consumption, and increases crop yields while minimizing environmental and climate impact.
NHFB’s nutrition education programmes are strategically designed to:
- Motivate northern Nigerian community-shared behavioural change, ensuring the most vulnerable populations adopt sustainable, health-promoting habits.
- Enhance practical skills, empowering beneficiaries to make better food choices with increasingly limited monetary and non-financial resources.
- Provide interactive learning, such as live food demonstrations, where the under-served families and communities learn how to prepare meals to maximize their nutritional value.
As you may know, effective nutrition education thrives on active community participation. NHFB’s beneficiaries’ families and community leaders see the importance of nutrition education and are willing to embrace new habits. With this understanding, NHFB’s nutrition education programmes are developed by its multidisciplinary team, including nutrition educators, community engagement officers, sociologists, economists, and data scientists who deeply understand the needs and realities of its target population.
Moreover, NHFB’s approach is intersectoral, leveraging community-responsive partnerships across various sectors to maximize impact. We utilize multiple communication channels, including community workshops, printed materials, social media, and on-the-ground advocacy, to ensure that the message of nutrition education reaches and resonates with northern Nigeria’s broader audience.
During the Valentine 2025 season, the NHFB’s nutrition education programme will share more about our food demonstration innovations planned for implementation within our beneficiaries communities.
Together, we can turn nutrition security knowledge into nutrition-just northern Nigerian communities bubbling socioeconomically developed transform national impacts. Stay tuned.
Marcus Ajayi
Nutrition Impact Analyst
An educated mind is an empowered mind. Knowledge is one of our most powerful tools in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. Achieving hunger-free communities requires more than just providing food; it demands a deep understanding of nutrition and nourishment.
For the past six years, the No Hunger Food Bank (NHFB) Secretariat has committed its expertise to tackling the significant burden of malnutrition in Africa, particularly in Nigeria. From the heart of Abuja, NHFB, or No Hunger Initiatives (NHIs), is an impact-driven organization dedicated to improving how communities understand and practice nutrition. Our mission goes beyond food distribution; we focus on equipping the most vulnerable mothers, teenagers, adolescents, families, and communities with the knowledge and behavioural changes necessary to combat malnutrition and mitigate its devastating societal effects.
Why Does Nutrition Education Matter for No Hunger Food Bank’s NAFHES Strategy?
The primary goal of NHFB’s nutrition education programme is to reinforce positive dietary behaviours that promote long-term health among Nigeria’s economically disadvantaged families. It’s not just about providing information; it’s about fostering community-shared and nutrition-responsive motivation, skills-building, and confidence-inspiring steps in under-served communities to make lasting health security changes. NHFB’s programmes with a focus on effective nutrition education serve multiple purposes:
Much like a double-edged sword, NHFB’s nutrition education programmes are both corrective and trans-formative tools. They are powerfully designed to shift community mindsets and drive meaningful dietary changes, ensuring that our beneficiaries’ communities don’t just survive but thrive.
According to the National Food Consumption Survey (NFCMS) 2021, 33.8% of children under five years old in Nigeria suffer from chronic undernutrition (stunting), while 25.5% are underweight. Additionally, 31% of 6 – 59 months children and 23% of women of reproductive age (15 – 49 years) are anemic, largely due to iron deficiency. These alarming figures underscore the critical need for targeted nutrition interventions, such as those spearheaded by No Hunger Initiatives, to address the root causes of malnutrition and improve health outcomes across the country.
Bridging Knowledge with Action
However, knowledge alone is not enough. Simply informing or educating Abuja and northern Nigeria’s most vulnerable population about proper nutrition does not automatically lead to improved dietary habits. The true impact is achieved when this evidence-based nutrition education translates concretely into actions, where the targeted population actively incorporates healthier practices into their daily lives.
For instance, teaching the most vulnerable families to grow and consume dark green, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables strengthens their immunity against infectious diseases. Similarly, learning safe food storage techniques reduces nutrient loss, ultimately improving household food security.
At No Hunger Initiatives (NHIs), our approach to nutrition education involves integrating it with sustainable interventions. One such programme is the Vertical Backyard Farming for Family Nutrition Needs (VerT2FAMNN)–a project that addresses acute anaemic deficiency and chronic malnutrition by fostering dietary diversity by equipping internally displaced female-headed households with the skills and tools to produce food, generate income, adapt to climate variability, reduce communal dependency, and build resilience against current and future hunger crises. Programmatically, the VerT2FAMMNN project is an innovative initiative that promotes vertical farming, a sustainable method of growing crops in vertically stacked layers. This approach maximizes space, reduces water consumption, and increases crop yields while minimizing environmental and climate impact.
NHFB’s nutrition education programmes are strategically designed to:
As you may know, effective nutrition education thrives on active community participation. NHFB’s beneficiaries’ families and community leaders see the importance of nutrition education and are willing to embrace new habits. With this understanding, NHFB’s nutrition education programmes are developed by its multidisciplinary team, including nutrition educators, community engagement officers, sociologists, economists, and data scientists who deeply understand the needs and realities of its target population.
Moreover, NHFB’s approach is intersectoral, leveraging community-responsive partnerships across various sectors to maximize impact. We utilize multiple communication channels, including community workshops, printed materials, social media, and on-the-ground advocacy, to ensure that the message of nutrition education reaches and resonates with northern Nigeria’s broader audience.
During the Valentine 2025 season, the NHFB’s nutrition education programme will share more about our food demonstration innovations planned for implementation within our beneficiaries communities.
Together, we can turn nutrition security knowledge into nutrition-just northern Nigerian communities bubbling socioeconomically developed transform national impacts. Stay tuned.
Marcus Ajayi
Nutrition Impact Analyst