Betta Edu dey Praise Oluremi Tinubu as South South Community Food Bank don  Start for Calabar.

Betta Edu dey Praise Oluremi Tinubu as South South Community Food Bank don  Start for Calabar.

Former Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, don praise First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu for launching the South South side of the National Community Food Bank Programme for Calabar, Cross River State.

The programme wey dem launch for September 4, 2026, na for help vulnerable people, especially small pikin dem under six years, pregnant women and women wey dey breastfeed. The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare talk say dem officially launch the South-South programme for Ediba Primary Healthcare Centre for Calabar. The programme cover six South South states: Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Rivers.

For Cross River, dem don launch three community food banks for the southern, central and northern senatorial districts so say more people fit get access to food and nutrition support. Reports talk say 1,179 beneficiaries don already enter the programme, while 2,089 food packages don already reach people wey need am.

The Federal Government talk say the food bank programme na part of efforts to fight hunger, malnutrition and the difficulty wey vulnerable people dey face for getting enough nutritious food. The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, don call on state and local governments for copy the programme for their own areas. He stress say government need enough money, strong partnerships, proper accountability and good distribution system make the programme work well.

UNICEF too don welcome the initiative, but e call for stronger connection between nutrition, healthcare, agriculture and social protection programmes. For Cross River, government officials don earlier talk say dem dey prepare for the South-South launch and say the programme go help vulnerable people, especially those wey dey hard-to-reach areas.

As the programme don now spread across the South South region, the big issue go be whether government fit maintain the funding, choose beneficiaries fairly and make sure say food packages truly reach the people wey need them most. If dem manage am well, the initiative fit help reduce hunger and improve nutrition for vulnerable families across the region.