When Mary Aduku’s three-month-old baby was diagnosed with acute malnutrition at a Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Lagos, she learnt about the Lagos Food Bank Initiative’s NUMEPLAN programme. For a worried mother seeking help, that referral opened a path to nutritional support and recovery.
Her experience highlights an important reality: helping a child recover from malnutrition often begins with someone recognising the problem and knowing where to turn.
The Lagos Food Bank Initiative’s Nutritious Meal Plan Intervention for Vulnerable Mothers and Children (NUMEPLAN) brings together healthcare facilities, nutrition professionals, corporate partners and volunteers to support vulnerable mothers and children. Primary Healthcare Centres help identify children at risk and refer eligible families for support, while continued monitoring and nutritional counselling help track children’s progress.
Mothers and caregivers also receive guidance on infant feeding, dietary diversity and affordable ways to improve their children’s nutrition. This ongoing support recognises that recovery requires more than a one-time food distribution.
Corporate partners strengthen the programme in different ways. In August 2026, Avon HMO partnered with LFBI during World Breastfeeding Week to provide health screenings, nutrition counselling and maternal health education, alongside nutritious food packages and essential care items.
Mouka contributed 50 Dreamtime mattresses for children enrolled in NUMEPLAN, recognising that children’s wellbeing involves more than nutrition alone.
Behind these contributions are LFBI’s nutritionists, programme officers and volunteers, who coordinate referrals, support caregivers and monitor children’s progress. Each plays a distinct role in ensuring families receive support beyond their initial point of contact.
The impact extends beyond programme figures. It can be seen in the healthcare worker who recognises the signs of malnutrition, the mother who receives guidance when she needs it, and the follow-up visit that helps determine whether a child is responding to nutritional support.
NUMEPLAN demonstrates that tackling child malnutrition requires early identification, appropriate nutritional care, consistent monitoring and collaboration.
You can help more children get the nutritional support they need to thrive. Helping a child recover is not the work of one organisation alone. It takes a network, working together, to give every child a healthier start. Support the Lagos Food Bank Initiative through donations, volunteering or corporate partnerships to help extend NUMEPLAN’s reach to vulnerable mothers and children.