Students receive and eat their daily hot meals at the Primary School of Nhacapiriri in Mozambique. ? WFP/Alfredo Zuniga
As we mark the 2024 Africa Day of School Feeding, I would like to reiterate my strong belief in and support for homegrown school feeding.
It is one of the most effective programmes to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa annd ensure sustainable development, long-term prosperity and durable peace across the continent.
This is our top priority in OSAA and one of the focuses of our contribution to the School Meals Coalition.
Homegrown school feeding programmes can be leveraged to rescue the SDGs.
- So far, only 15 per cent of have been delivered globally, and 80 per cent of the 140 targets are yet to be reached.
- Close to half of the targets are experiencing only moderate progress or are severely off track.
- Some 30 per cent of the targets have seen no movement or regressed below the 2015 baseline.
- On poverty: In 2022, 15 million more Africans were pushed into extreme poverty with the surge in food and energy prices.
- On health: The number of people needing life-saving health assistance in countries affected by conflict increased by 25 per cent in 2022.
- On education: For the 2021-2022 school year, more than 12,000 schools closed in eight countries because of direct attacks, displacement and fear.
This has been eroding State legitimacy and consequently feeding instability. In fact, from an instability standpoint:
- Armed conflict incidents have increased in three of five subregions.
- Four African countries accounted for more than 1/3 of world terrorism-related deaths.
- More than nine million people were internally displaced by conflict and violence last year.
- While terrorism-related deaths have decreased by more than 1/3 globally since 2015, they have increased in Africa.
- In fact, in Sub-Saharan Africa, they have DOUBLED.
- Conflict-affected African countries represent 1/3 of the continent. As these countries share 80 land borders with other African countries, 85 per cent of the continent's population either reside in or share land borders with conflict-affected countries.
We need quick wins and interventions with a high multiplier effect.
This is what school feeding programmes bring to the table.
Besides the traditional dimensions, such as increased scholarization rates, gender parity, nutrition and health prevention, homegrown school feeding programmes can be reconceptualized to play a multisectoral entry point role.
PEACE AND SECURITY
They are an effective intervention to reverse the erosion of state legitimacy, helping the States to be present in delivering social services.
Consequently, within this context, they should be considered peace and security tools.
In his?report on promoting durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, the Secretary-General proposed leveraging homegrown school feeding to boost state legitimacy and spur the transformative change needed to achieve the SDGs.
ENERGY ACCESS
They can be used to deliver renewable energy solutions – off-grid and mini-grid solutions.
How?
School feeding programmes encourage the creation of locally based management structures, which can be replicated to scale up off-grid energy solutions in Africa.
To roll out a school feeding programme in a remote village, the UN system goes through a process of co-creation with the community in terms of putting in place management structures.
These same structures can be used to roll out renewable energy programmes
CLIMATE ADAPTATION
By delivering energy access, we are paving the way to the adoption of climate adaptation solutions.
Energy is a critical element in the design and implementation of climate adaptation solutions.
African countries with reliable energy access can adapt to the impact of climate change, powering technologies from smart irrigation to clean cooking to reduce pollution.
FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION
With the increased energy access and while being empowered to adopt climate adaptation solutions
The same community leveraging the homegrown dimension of school feeding has a market to support food system transformation.
But homegrown school feeding should be budgeted and properly financed.
Africa must look from within and mobilize domestic resources to finance development activities, including school meal programmes.
How?
A two-track approach can be considered:
In the short term, there is a need to increase Official Development Assistance, or ODA, resources to revamp homegrown school feeding programmes in Africa.
And this is a win-win situation.
From the perspective of Africa’s partners, this is an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of ODA flows since the rate of return of homegrown school feeding programmes is $1 to $9.
From the African countries’ side, it is an effective way to start addressing state legitimacy, state presence, instability, and vulnerability.
In the medium term, national budgets need to take over.
For that, part of short-term ODA flows should be earmarked to support African countries in building strong Domestic Resource Mobilization systems so that in five years, the national budget is ready to take over the financing of school feeding programmes.
Homegrown school feeding is the low-hanging fruit that can be tapped immediately to reverse the negative trend in implementing the SDGs.
Africa and its partners can and must be working hand-in-hand on this because a strong Africa is not only a win for Africa but a win for the world.