We created this innovation to confront Nigeria’s persistent child malnutrition crisis, driven by poor diets, low nutrition awareness, and high economic cost. With millions of children undernourished and malnutrition draining national productivity, we saw the need for a new approach, one that builds nutrition knowledge early to shift household behavior and secure healthier futures.
NutriKids Lab is delivered through schools using a structured three-part model. First, children receive interactive, age-appropriate nutrition education that connects food to health, growth, and energy, with emphasis on locally available nutritious foods. Learning is reinforced through practical activities, including guided cooking sessions integrated into Home Economics classes. Second, children extend learning into their households using simple take-home resources, recipe textbooks, notebooks, and backpacks that encourage conversations and healthier food requests. Third, the model supports lasting impact by embedding knowledge early, shaping family diets today, and informing future decision-making. The approach combines participatory learning with practical tools. Evidence from pilot activities indicates that parents reported discovering specific nutritious foods through their children, demonstrating children’s influence on household behavior.
NutriKids Lab has expanded through school-based pilots and community partnerships, with children serving as catalysts for change within their households. Parents report learning about specific nutritious foods directly from their children, prompting household conversations and greater interest in healthier options. Over the past year, key achievements include successful pilot implementation, strengthened nutrition awareness, and observable shifts in children’s confidence to identify and request healthier meals.
Over the next 2–3 years, we aim to scale across more schools, deepen behavior-change outcomes, and collaborate with state governments to embed nutrition education within Nigeria’s formal curriculum and make healthy eating a core priority for every child.
To adopt this solution, interested partners should contact our organization directly. We provide the curriculum, tools, and implementation guidance to ensure all activities and behavior-change techniques are applied correctly. We then support engagement with schools, state education boards, and local governments to replicate the model effectively.
