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‘Reducing Poverty & Hunger:’ Fidelity Bank Launches Food Bank Initiative Nationwide

  • In November 2022, the NBS released data showing that more than 130 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor.

  • Although many factors were considered to reach that conclusion, hunger was prominent among them.

  • Therefore, Fidelity Bank has taken a major step to reduce poverty and alleviate hunger in society.

Eko Hot Blog reports that leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has launched a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme tagged the “Fidelity Food Bank.”

In a statement issued at the weekend, the bank’s spokesperson, Dan Preston Nwaokorie, said through the initiative, the financial institution will partner with carefully selected charity organisations across Nigeria to provide food items to members of the society monthly.

EDITOR’S PICKS

At an event held to officially launch the project at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Victoria Island, Lagos, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe noted the high food insecurity rate across Nigeria and the globe.

Onyeali-Ikpe said this reality has prompted the bank to give back to the communities it serves.

“According to the Global Hunger Index, an estimated 2.4 billion people, which represents more than 30 per cent of the world’s population, faced severe food insecurity in 2022,” she said.

“In Nigeria, data published by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2022, stated that over 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor and the major issue is hunger.

“We recognise that one of the ways we can continue to touch lives and give back to the communities we serve is by the introduction of The Fidelity Food Bank initiative.

“It is often said that if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go with people. This is the philosophy behind our partnership with Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church and other Fidelity Food Bank Partners across the country. Our Partners will assist in the distribution of food items to people across their various locations.”

L – R: Parish Priest, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Victoria Island, Lagos, Rev. Father Julius Olaitan; Executive Director/Chief Operations and Information Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Stanley Amuchie; MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe; and Assistant Parish Priest, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Victoria Island, Lagos, Rev. Father Oscar Obi John at the launch of the Fidelity Food Bank in Lagos on Friday, 21 April 2023.

The launch ceremony had in attendance clergy from the church, led by the Parish Priest, Reverend Father Julius Olaitan, as well as Executives and staff of Fidelity Bank Plc and climaxed with the official handover of the food packs to the church who is one of the bank’s partners in the food bank initiative.

Nwaokorie said the Fidelity Food Bank project comes under the bank’s Health and Social Welfare CSR pillar. Other pillars in the CSR strategy are Education, Environment and Youth Empowerment.

Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged customer commercial bank operating in Nigeria with over 7.5 million customers serviced across its 250 business offices and digital banking channels.

The bank was recognized as the Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023 and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards.

FURTHER READING

The bank has also won awards for the “Fastest Growing Bank” and “MSME & Entrepreneurship Financing Bank of the Year” at the 2021 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.

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Philip Ibitoye

Philip Ibitoye is a journalist who boasts more than five years of experience reporting the news. He is an Editor at Eko Hot Blog.

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Philip Ibitoye

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