Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), in partnership with Health Emergency Initiative (HEI), on Thursday, 7 August 2025, launched the first community outreach under Project BLOOM.
Tagged “Bringing Life to Our Overlooked Minors”, the move is a bold show of support for the Lagos State Government’s fight against child malnutrition.
The multi-stakeholder initiative targets severely malnourished children and their caregivers in underserved communities across Lagos, combining nutritional aid, health support and practical caregiver education to create a long-term impact.
The flagship outreach, held at Aiyetoro Primary Health Centre in Yaba under Lagos State Health District IV, marked a critical intervention in the State’s efforts to reduce preventable infant and under-five deaths. Beneficiaries received Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs), health screenings, and hands-on training for mothers and caregivers on preparing nutritious, low-cost meals using locally available ingredients.
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According to UNICEF, Nigeria ranks second globally in the percentage of children affected by stunting, with 32 percent of children under five stunted and more than two million suffering from severe acute malnutrition, many without access to treatment. Project BLOOM seeks to restore the health and dignity of hundreds of children across seven underserved Lagos communities: Ifako Ijaiye, Agege, Iwaya, Makoko, Bariga, Ilaje, and Ajegunle.
Speaking at the outreach, Temi Popoola, Group Managing Director/CEO of NGX Group, represented by Adebayo Opatade, Group Chief Finance, Investment & Strategy Officer, said: “At NGX Group, we believe the growth of our markets must be matched by the growth of our communities. Project BLOOM is a clear demonstration of how we can leverage our platform, partnerships, and people to address urgent social challenges like child malnutrition. By empowering our employees to lead from the front, we are reinforcing our belief that sustainable impact is achieved when the private sector, government, and civil society work together with urgency and purpose. This is not charity, it is an investment in the future resilience of our society and economy”.
Also speaking, Pascal Achunine, Executive Director of HEI, underscored the urgency of the intervention: “We are taking the bull by the horns. We cannot sit on the sidelines while our children suffer from preventable malnutrition. Project BLOOM is about immediate action, meeting needs now while creating a sustainable path forward for caregivers and their children”.
Oladimeji Saheed, who represented the Chairman of Yaba Local Council Development Area, Adebayo Adefuye, commended the “bold vision and compassion” of the programme and pledged community support.
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Oludolapo Shotunde, speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Health District IV, Abimbola Bolawale, described the outreach as “a timely and commendable intervention” aligned with state health priorities.
Project BLOOM advances Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) by improving child nutrition and health outcomes, while also embodying SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through its public-private-civil society collaboration.
This first outreach sets the stage for a series of interventions across Lagos, underpinned by a monitoring and evaluation framework to track beneficiaries’ nutritional recovery over a three-month period in partnership with local health authorities. Insights from this process will inform future community health interventions by NGX Group and its partners.