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4w ago

Africa’s School Meals Reach 87 Million as Governments Take the Lead

A new WFP report attributes the surge to national investment, with local procurement lifting farmer incomes.

Elisabeth Rebeccah,22, prepares a meal at the Muchacha primary school after recently fleeing from Shonga village following clashes between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) in Sake, the Democratic Republic of Congo February 6, 2024. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo
The region saw the biggest rise in school feeding of any region, by nearly a third to 87 million in 2024.

Overview

  • Sub-Saharan Africa served roughly 87 million children in 2024, nearly one-third higher than in 2022 and about 20 million more students, according to the WFP.
  • National programmes are replacing WFP-delivered aid, with Kenya fully running its scheme and expanding coverage from 1.8 million in 2023 to 2.6 million in 2024 as schools adopt innovations like hydroponics.
  • Ethiopia, Rwanda, Madagascar and Chad recorded some of the fastest growth, each feeding about six times as many children over the past two years.
  • Local sourcing is generating tangible economic gains, including Benin’s government purchases adding over $23 million to the economy in 2024 and Sierra Leone sourcing more than a third of meals from smallholder farmers.
  • Significant gaps remain in low-income and conflict-affected countries such as the DRC, Somalia, South Sudan and war-torn Sudan, where services contract or shift to take-home rations as donor funding falls.