The Nigerian government, alongside other global leaders, has pledged to expand school meal programmes, targeting the inclusion of an additional 10 million children by 2030.
This commitment was announced at a global summit where governments, multilateral development banks, UN agencies and philanthropic organisations joined forces to combat childhood hunger and improve education access in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The initiative, spearheaded by the School Meals Coalition, a network of over 100 governments and 130 partners, aims to reach 150 million children in low and lower-middle-income countries. more than twice the current reach.
The plan is part of a broader agenda to ensure every school child receives at least one nutritious meal daily with a proposed measure including national and international action on financing, coordination, and provision.
Commitment to child nutrition
According to Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, Nigeria, as a home of Africa’s largest school meals programme, has vowed to double its current reach from 10 million to 20 million children in displaced settings and involving local farmers.
The programme will also prioritise partnerships with local farmers to supply food for the initiative, bolstering local agricultural systems.
Speaking on each country’s commitment, the CEO of Novo Nordisk Foundation, a private philanthropist, Mads Thomsen, highlighted the programme’s role in reducing malnutrition, boosting school enrollment, and supporting smallholder farmers.
“By supporting school meals programmes for children in low and lower middle-income countries, we can help to address a host of issues,” he said.
He added that providing healthy and nutritious meals and improving children’s education and learning, homegrown school meals programmes may serve as catalytic platforms for strengthening local food systems and promoting sustainable agriculture, among other things.
Aligning with global action
The announcement precedes the G20 Leaders’ Summit, where the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty will be formally launched.
Led by Brazil under its G20 presidency, the alliance aims to accelerate progress toward eradicating poverty and hunger.
Nigeria, along with countries such as Benin, Brazil, France, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Paraguay, Philippines, Sierra Leone and Tajikistan are playing a leading role in this initiative with each tailoring their programmes to meet specific national needs.
For Nigeria, the school meals programme represents a lifeline for millions of children facing food insecurity, especially in conflict-prone and rural areas.
Case for school meals
Evidence shows that these school meals programmes can be effective in improving nutrition and health, improving education outcomes, alleviating poverty, and strengthening gender equality by limiting school dropout among girls, according to World Food Programme.
When tied to the procurement of food from local family farmers, these programmes can also foster sustainable agricultural practices and support inclusive growth by creating stable markets for local producers.
Partners speak
The Executive Director, World Food Programme, Cindy McCain, noted that school meals programmes are a game-changer in the fight against poverty, hunger and inequality.
She said: “It opens up access to education, champions local farmers and food systems, supports climate resilience, creates new jobs, and boosts economic growth and prosperity.
“WFP will work closely with the School Meals Coalition, Global Alliance members, partner governments and frontline organizations as we go all-out to reach 150 million more of the world’s most vulnerable children – transforming their lives, their communities and our planet”.
Speaking on achieving the goal towards the targeted number of children, she noted that the plan is to reach 27 million vulnerable children by 2025.
“WFP plans to reach 27 million of the most vulnerable children with nutritious meals in over 80 countries in 2025. As the School Meals Coalition Secretariat, WFP will support the over 100 member governments of the Coalition to foster more sustainable and inclusive growth through school meals.
“This includes technical assistance to countries to reach the goal of providing 150 million more children with a daily meal in school by 2030. In addition, we will coordinate school meal-specific support across the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty’s three pillars (national, financial, and knowledge) with support from its Support Mechanism,” she said.
Also speaking, World Bank´s Vice President on Development Finance and Director of the International Development Association (IDA), Akihiko Nishio, noted that the World Bank has fully signed up to be a partner of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and will support the ambition through IDA 21.
She said, “The Bank will work with governments and partners to accelerate progress towards the eradication of poverty and zero hunger. Working through a fully replenished IDA, the World Bank will seek to extend social protection to 500 million people by 2030, including the millions of children who are living with undernutrition and could be reached through school feeding.”
In addition, GAAHP noted that throughout all these stages, relevant experience sharing and knowledge will be mobilised through the efforts of organisations such as WFP, FAO, UNIDO.
“The School Meals Coalition and its initiatives will coordinate efforts to provide school meal-specific support to countries with assistance from the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty’s Support Mechanism.”
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