A 27-year-old development consultant, Itofa Ivarah, has won the United Kingdom Hunger Award for tackling hunger and malnutrition in rural Nigeria.

Ivarah won the youth category of the award organised by a political consultancy firm, the Advocacy Team.

He will get a cash prize of £1,000 to support his organisation.

The award ceremony, which held on Thursday at the Institute for Contemporary Arts in London, was attended by policymakers, charity leaders, and community organisers.

PUNCH Diaspora Tales had reported that Ivarah and another Nigerian, Adenike Bamigbade, were shortlisted for their initiatives to combat global hunger.

According to the press release by the organisers made available to our correspondent on Friday, Ivarah, the founder of the My9jaFoodBank initiative, was announced the winner in the Youth Hero category.

The Nigerian was represented by his wife, Grace.

Grace said her husband would have loved to be present, but circumstances beyond his control kept him away.

While showing appreciation for the award, Ivarah was quoted as saying, “This award means a lot to me, but I don’t do this work for recognition. I do it because I’ve lived this struggle. I know what it feels like to be hungry, to leave school because your parents can’t afford the fees, and to watch your mother cry with worry. That experience gave me the drive to help others. It is such a delight not only to be nominated for the award but to actually win it.”

The social enterpreneur was nominated by an international not-for-profit organisation, One Campaign, because of the great job My9jaFoodBank was doing to end hunger in rural Nigeria.

He was said to have used the initiative to provide nutritious meals to vulnerable families, particularly those in Nigeria’s internally displaced persons camps.

Through a mobile food bank, his organisation distributes food to schools and camps across Abuja, Benue, and Kano states, offering children hot meals and educational support.