Kenya’s school feeding programme currently benefits 2.6 million learners, a more than tenfold increase from the 240,000 learners recorded in 2009, President William Ruto has said.
He was speaking on Tuesday during the second Ministerial Meeting of the School Meals Coalition Taskforce in Nairobi that brought together global leaders to advance the mission of ensuring every child has access to a nutritious meal in school by 2030.
Ruto said Kenya has tripled the budgetary allocation for the School Meals Programme (SMP) and set a clear goal of expanding its coverage from 2.6 million to 10 million children by 2030.
“By 2030, every child especially the vulnerable ones, will receive a healthy and nutritious meal in school. This will dignify them, increase enrolment, enhance attendance and boost performance,” he said.
The Head of State said the programme’s transformative impact extends beyond education, stimulating value chains within our agriculture, food systems and boosting our economy.
“School meals have far-reaching benefits; they make adequate nutrition accessible, foster learning, create jobs, promote sustainability, and uplift communities. Yet, hunger remains a significant challenge to the well-being of many, particularly in arid regions,” he said.
The President pointed out that the initiative aligns with the country’s recent launch of the National School Meals Coalition and the release of a new ‘Operational Plan’ for the scale-up of the SMP to universal coverage.
“We are committed to action and are fully determined to succeed. Kenya is also addressing climate challenges by combining initiatives that promote resilience, including robust support for school meals, provision for local sourcing, and fostering sustainable practices such as clean cooking and the adoption of drought-resistant crops,” he said.
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Ruto added; “As we do this, we realize that achieving universal coverage requires partnership on a much broader scale. This is why Kenya joined the Coalition in 2021. We want all our partners to unite under the National School Meal Coalition to achieve this ambition,” Ruto remarked.
The Global School Meals Coalition brings together 100 governments, multilateral organizations such as the WFP and philanthropies including the Rockefeller Foundation and Novo Nordisk.
Ruto noted that children spend 75% of their time at school and under ideal conditions, should receive at least half of their daily meals there.
Kenya introduced the School Meals Programme as early as 1966. Initially, the programme was implemented only in Nairobi. However, the entry of WFP transformed the scale of the initiative, and Government partnership enabled it to expand nationally by 1980.
By Obegi Malack | obegimalack@gmail.com
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