Ministry of Education Launches National School Meals Coalition, the Kenya Chapter

With support from the United Nations World Food Programme and The Rockefeller Foundation, the National School Meals Coalition will be the foundation for Kenya’s ambitious goal of universal school meals coverage.

NAIROBI | October 8, 2024 ― The Ministry of Education today launched Kenya’s National School Meals Coalition and released a new ‘Operational Plan’ for the scale-up of the School Meals Programme (SMP) to universal coverage. The establishment of a National School Meals Coalition fulfils one of the commitments that Kenya made at the launch of the global School Meals Coalition at the United Nations Food Systems Summit in September 2021 during the UN General Assembly.

Developed with support from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and The Rockefeller Foundation, Kenya’s Operational Plan for the SMP scale-up 2024-2030 supports the National Coalition’s goal of increasing the number of learners benefiting from school meals from 1.9 million learners in 2023 to over 10 million learners by 2030, with an interim goal of reaching 4 million in 2024. Kenya, an acknowledged leader in school meals, has also committed to a universal programme that advances the country’s climate goals.

Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Education (MoE), Julius Migos Ogamba, EBS, said: “The planet-friendly approach to school feeding will be at the heart of the scale up and focus of the coalition. This is because we are aware of the environmental impact of the scale-up of this programme, but also of its transformative power to help farmers and communities adapt to climate change if we get it right, e.g. through climate-smart agriculture and shifting away from the current 90% use of firewood towards cleaner sources of cooking.”

The rise in food insecurity witnessed at the height of the recent drought, the worst in 40 years, that resulted in millions of learners losing access to meals and therefore education, underscores the indispensable role of school meals in safeguarding and ensuring children’s well-being. The integration and expansion of climate-smart school meals is fundamental and offers Kenya a unique opportunity and entry point to tackle climate challenges that disproportionately affect Kenya’s arid and semi-arid areas.

The World Food Programme Representative and Country Director, Lauren Landis said: “We applaud the Government of Kenya for their leadership on the scale-up and on the launch of the national coalition, setting an example for many countries around the world. WFP assures the Government of full support in facilitating the National School Meals Coalition.”

The National Chapter of the School Meals Coalition will serve as a key platform to bring both Government and Development Partners together in supporting Kenya to realize the scale up. The Coalition will host a number of workstreams to dive deeper into specific focus areas, such as clean cooking for school feeding, linking small-holder farmers to markets, climate-adapted options for locally sourced school meals, health and nutrition, and financing for school feeding. The National Coalition will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Education with WFP as the Secretariat.

William Asiko, Vice President and head of The Rockefeller Foundation’s Africa Regional Office, said: “Kenya’s commitment to achieving universal school meals coverage by 2030, especially with their focus on climate-smart strategies, is a powerful example for the entire continent. By providing nutritious food to children, Kenya is not only improving their health and learning outcomes but also creating a ripple effect that strengthens communities. The Rockefeller Foundation applauds the outcomes that will be achieved by the Ministry of Education’s leadership and looks forward to supporting work that will achieve these ambitious goals.”

As laid out in the Operational Plan, the Ministry of Education will also collaborate with partners to develop a Sustainable Funding Strategy, including current and new funding sources. In addition to government funding continuing as the primary source, alongside continued advocacy to attract donor investment in school meals, the strategy will also explore additional funding avenues, including, but not limited to contributions from communities and parents, climate finance of clean-cooking infrastructure, debt swaps, round-up donations, co-investments by donors, and green investors. In addition, the private sector to match Kenya’s robust domestic increase in funding will be key.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity. Today, we are focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food, health, energy, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn and LI @the-rockefeller-foundation.

About the UN World Food Programme

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. In Kenya, WFP is investing in long-term initiatives that tackle the root causes of hunger, building communities’ resilience to climate shocks, and breaking the cycle of recurring crises, hunger and destitution. Follow us on X: @WFP_Kenya, @WFP_Africa @wfp_media.