School feeding programme needs flawless transition

What you need to know:

Although the impending exit of the World Food Programme (WFP) in June from the programme sets the stage for a handover; the transition heralds an opportunity for reconfiguration so that the two million targeted primary school going children and the nation at large can harness the promise of the school feeding programme.
It is important to note that even though the current strategy was launched on the setback of a cash-shortfall of Sh1 billion, it still holds innumerable benefits as was realised in the previous regime.
The food incentives were able to lure the children into school and helped to keep them there.

Not too long ago, the ministries of Education, Agriculture and Health launched the National School Meal and Nutrition Strategy, a blue print that stipulates the government’s resolve, intent and ambition to fully take over the school feeding programme.

Since 1980 when it was first set into motion by the government in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), the programme has seen immense growth with the latter supporting slightly over 500,000 primary school going children in 3,850 schools and the former benefiting more than one million students in arid and semi-arid counties as well as in the slums of Nairobi.

Although the impending exit of the World Food Programme (WFP) in June from the programme sets the stage for a handover; the transition heralds an opportunity for reconfiguration so that the two million targeted primary school going children and the nation at large can harness the promise of the school feeding programme.

It is important to note that even though the current strategy was launched on the setback of a cash-shortfall of Sh1 billion, it still holds innumerable benefits as was realised in the previous regime. The food incentives were able to lure the children into school and helped to keep them there.

As opposed to children who did not receive the school meals, the statistics shared by the ministry of education showed that girls who received school meals finished primary school at a higher rate.

In addition, boys who received the meals entered secondary school at a 10 per cent higher rate than those without. Therein contains evidence that the program is vital in enhancing enrolment and reducing absenteeism.

Moreover, the ubiquity of the program contributed to education achievement among the beneficiaries. It has been realised that students who received school meals scored higher in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination by about seven percentage points than those without.

After all, a hungry child has a harder time concentrating in school and this may in effect result into impaired cognition.

Also, the beneficiaries of the school feeding programme are able to achieve nutritional benefits through the attainment of the minimum recommended daily allowances (RDA) of calories, proteins and micronutrients. Essentially, this food and nutritional lifeline is making its fair contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) to end poverty and hunger.

To further flirt with the full promise of the programme, complementary interventions such as micronutrient supplementation and deworming can be administered to further augment the aforementioned benefits.

Often, such actions are low cost and are only conducted based on demonstrated need. However, they have far-reaching benefits and their absence may lead to stunting and impaired physical development of especially young children hence resulting in wasted potentials and lifelong difficulties.

The representation from the health ministry in the strategy launch was therefore a pleasant sight knowing too well the latent ability in achieving health priorities through this programme.