The wife of Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Monica Ugochi Ugwuanyi, yesterday, flagged off the de-worming programme for pupils in public primary schools in the state, organized by the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, in collaboration with the state government.
Performing the function, Mrs. Ugwuanyi appreciated the federal government for its thoughtfulness in introducing the school feeding programme in primary schools in the country, which she said was designed to improve child nutrition and health, increase school enrolment, create employment opportunities and strengthen local agricultural economies.
She also thanked the state’s government for its contributions in ensuring that children of the state are among the beneficiaries of the feeding programme in the country, stressing that “it is a clear demonstration of good governance and a state with a vision to make health interventions and education accessible, affordable and qualitative”.
This came as stakeholders in the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme applauded Gov. Ugwuanyi for ensuring that Enugu was among the states in the country to benefit in the first batch of the scheme.
Speaking during the flag off of the de-worming exercise, the state programme manager, Mr. Ifeanyi Onah noted that “this event was made possible because of the pragmatic and proactive leadership of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, whom I usually describe as the man who saw tomorrow”.
Mr. Onah disclosed that the programme which started in Enugu State, three years ago, has about 2,230 cooks feeding about 194,707 pupils, adding that the state was among the first set of states that joined the exercise by fulfilling all the conditions in 2016.
In his address, the State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Anthony Ugochukwu, highlighted the remarkable contributions of Gov. Ugwuanyi and his wife, Monica, towards delivering healthcare services to the people of the state, especially the children and less privileged.
The health commissioner, who was represented by the permanent secretary, Dr. Ifeanyi Agujiobi, noted with delight that Mrs. Ugwuanyi’s pet project, Ugo’s Touch of Life Foundation (U-TOLF) has continued to provide free medical treatment for vulnerable groups and empower the less privileged in the state.
He added that the governor’s wife’s foundation also provided cancer screening machines for hospitals across the three senatorial districts of the state, stating that the de-worming exercise was one of her other numerous achievements. The commissioner assured Mrs. Ugwuanyi of the ministry’s commitment to the success of her noble vision and that of her husband for the state, urging the people to always avail themselves of the various facilities provided by the state government to take care of their health challenges.
