Nairobi: Twenty million more children in Sub-Saharan Africa are now receiving school meals through government-led programmes than in 2022, according to the latest edition of the State of School Feeding Worldwide, a flagship global biennial report released today by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
According to EMM, the African continent has seen the most significant rise of any region, with the number of children receiving school meals increasing by over 30 percent from 66 million in 2022 to 87 million in 2024. Chad, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Rwanda have notably increased the number of pupils receiving school meals by up to six times. This rise is attributed to government investments in school meals, marking a shift from foreign aid dependency to recognising school meals as a strategic public investment in education, health, and national development.
In Benin, the government primarily funds school meals, contributing over US$23 million to the economy by purchasing local food for these programmes in 2024. Direct purchases from smallholder farmers increased by 800 percent, benefiting more than 23,000 people. Similarly, in Burundi, WFP's local food procurement for school meals resulted in a 50 percent increase in farmers' incomes in 2024 and created employment opportunities across 67 cooperatives with 20,000 members.
In Malawi, each dollar spent on school meals generates eight dollars in economic benefits. In Sierra Leone, 40 percent of food for school meals came from smallholder farmers—primarily women and youth—providing a varied diet with rice, pulses, sweet potatoes, and vegetables. Additionally, in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, partnerships with The Novo Nordisk Foundation, The Grundfos Foundation, and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs support eco-friendly diets for children by establishing 1,300 school gardens, training 61,500 smallholder farmers in climate-smart agriculture, and supplying schools with fuel-efficient cooking equipment.
Eric Perdison, WFP's Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, stated that a meal at school is more than just food; it is an investment in the family, community, and a country's future. Sourcing food locally provides healthy, culturally appropriate meals for children while supporting smallholder farmers, driving economic growth, and national development.
However, millions of children in low-income African countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, and South Sudan still lack access to school meals due to low domestic funding and reliance on decreasing external donor support. WFP will continue to prioritise children in these fragile settings for direct delivery of school meals to safeguard their access to learning and nutrition amid global uncertainty and reduced funding.
The report comes ahead of the second School Meals Coalition Global Summit in Brazil, on 18-19 September, where leaders will assess progress and mobilise further action.
