Read Also

Millions of children across Africa attend school every day on empty stomachs. This is an economic failure as much as it is a social one.

Conversations about Africa’s economic transformation often focus on infrastructure, industrialisation and technology. Yet one of the most powerful drivers of growth remains under-prioritised: school feeding.

This blind spot stems in part from how school meals have traditionally been framed—as charity rather than strategy. In reality, school feeding sits at the intersection of education, agriculture and labour productivity. When designed effectively, it is not a welfare intervention but an investment in human capital and economic resilience.

According to the United Nations World Food Programme’s State of School Feeding Worldwide report, 87 million children were receiving school meals daily across sub-Saharan Africa as of last September, a 30 per cent increase from 66 million in 2022.

This growth demonstrates what is possible when countries prioritise school feeding. In nations such as Chad, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Rwanda, the number of children reached has increased by up to six times, reflecting strong political and deliberate investment.

A hungry child cannot concentrate, cannot fully participate and ultimately cannot reach their potential. At scale, this translates into a workforce that is less skilled, less productive and less able to drive economic growth.

No country has achieved sustained economic growth without investing in the health and capabilities of its people. Human capital is not an abstract concept; it is built daily in classrooms, and it depends on whether children are equipped to learn.

However, the impact of school feeding extends far beyond the classroom. Well-designed, home-grown school feeding programmes can act as powerful economic multipliers. According to the World Food Programme, school health and nutrition programmes can deliver up to $9 (Sh1,162) in return for every $1 (Sh129) invested.

The 2025 United Nations World Food Programme’s State of School Feeding Worldwide report explicitly highlights the powerful economic impact of school feeding programmes across multiple African countries.

In Benin, government-led procurement of locally sourced food for school meals contributed over $23 million (Sh2.9 billion) to the economy in 2024, with direct purchases from smallholder farmers increasing by 800 per cent and benefitting more than 23,000 people.

In Burundi, local procurement models increased farmers’ incomes by 50 per cent while creating jobs across 67 cooperatives with over 20,000 members. In Malawi, every $1 (Sh129) invested in school feeding generates up to $8 (Sh1,033) in broader economic benefits across health, education and agriculture.

These are no marginal gains. They are system-wide impacts that strengthen agricultural value chains, create jobs and stimulate rural economies while improving educational outcomes.

However, millions of children, particularly in low-income countries, still lack access to school meals due to limited domestic financing and continued reliance on declining external donor support. This underscores the need to reposition school feeding as a national and continental priority rather than a supplementary intervention.

Encouragingly, African governments are beginning to recognise this. During the African Day of School Feeding held in Botswana, countries across the continent committed to expanding access to quality education and nutrition by scaling up investment, strengthening policy implementation and fostering regional and global cooperation. The ambition is clear: to ensure that no African child learns on an empty stomach.

Delivering this ambition, however, requires more than intent. It is fundamentally a systems challenge. Many programmes still rely on manual processes, fragmented procurement and limited data, making it difficult to track delivery, manage resources efficiently or measure impact at scale.

Innovation is beginning to change this. Across Africa, digital tools are improving transparency, enabling better targeting and strengthening accountability. From mobile payments to real-time tracking, these systems allow governments and partners to deliver meals more efficiently while building the data needed to scale sustainably.

If Africa is serious about inclusive and sustained economic growth, school feeding must move from the margins of policy to the centre of economic planning. This will require coordinated investment, stronger systems, and sustained political commitment.

A child with a full stomach today is not just a beneficiary of a programme. They are a future worker, entrepreneur and citizen — and a direct contributor to Africa’s economic future.

Director of Public Affairs, Food4Education