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School Feeding: A unique platform to address gender inequalities

2020-09-23

Corona measures such as lockdowns not only have serious consequences for the adult population. School closures have led to 90 percent of children worldwide with no access to schools. In many places, however, school meals are the only daily meal for children. Without access to this safety nets, issues like hunger, poverty and malnutrition are exacerbated for hundreds of millions of children and their families. The long-term consequences are particularly serious for girls.

When social shocks and disasters occur, school meals provide a strong incentive for families to keep sending their girls to school. © WFP/Nyani Quarmyne

By UN World Food Programme (WFP)

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest humanitarian organization in the world, supporting around 80 million people in more than 80 countries each year with food, money and vouchers.

All contributions

In February 2020, the COVID-19 crisis erupted and became a world-wide pandemic: by mid-March most governments world-wide had resorted to lockdowns. The lockdowns have had well known consequences for the adult population, but the associated school closures have also led to 90 percent of the world’s school age children – 1.6 billion children - with no access to schools.

At the peak of school closures nearly 370 million schoolchildren were missing out on school meals on which they depend – half of them were girls. The consequences could be devastating for these children’s futures. From past pandemics we know that many girls won’t return to school once schools re-open, as families consider the financial and opportunity costs of educating their daughters. A Malala Fund research shows that up to 10 million secondary-school aged girls may never return to the classroom.

In the countries where WFP works, the meal children receive in school is often the only meal they will get in a day. Without the access to such safety nets, issues like hunger, poverty and malnutrition are exacerbated for hundreds of millions of children and their families.

In response to this WFP together with UNICEF have scaled up their support to governments, aiming to reach 10 million of the most vulnerable children with health and nutrition packages. The two agencies are preparing for when schools re-open so that children get a school health and nutrition package on their return. This will help ensure that children whose health has suffered during school closures can recover.

School health and nutrition programmes yield high returns in human capital – the sum of a population’s health, skills, knowledge and experience.

More than 70 countries have adapted their school feeding programmes to continue supporting children during school closures by providing take-home rations, vouchers or cash transfers. About 6.9 million learners in 45 low income countries have been reached since the onset of the crisis with take-home rations by governments with the help of the UN system.

What is convincing countries to include school health and nutrition services as part of their crisis response? They recognize that school health and nutrition programmes yield high returns in four important areas, necessary to build up their communities and their economy: human capital – the sum of a population’s health, skills, knowledge and experience; safety nets for poor children and their families; local economies, especially the earning power of women; and in the area of peace-building, community resilience and preventing future conflict.

An essential safety net for poor children and their families

One of the ways low- and middle-income countries responded to previous crisis, like the 2008 financial crisis was by expanding children’s school meals programs. This is also seen in the scale-up of programs to meet the needs of children in countries affected by conflict, such as Syria, Yemen, and South Sudan. This is because school meals reach into the heart of poor communities and benefit children directly. The food provided is seen by families as having real value, often substituting for around 10 percent of the family income for every child fed throughout the year.

When social shocks and disasters occur, school meals provide a strong incentive for families to keep sending their girls to school rather than taking them out to work or to engage in other activities, often harmful. Helping girls stay in school, especially into adolescence, is an effective way of preventing early marriage and of delaying first pregnancy, both of which can trap women into poverty and chronic ill health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on school children, with about 1.6 billion children and youth affected by school closures. This has huge implications for students’ learning, health and nutrition. © WFP/Damilola Onafuwa

These school meal programs are especially critical for children who live in areas of fragility, conflict and violence. Globally, around a 150 million people are acutely food insecure and with COVID-19 this number is expected to increase by 80 percent, to 270 million before the end of 2020. Even in informal educational settings, these programs meet basic hunger needs and protect the future of the world’s most vulnerable children. They can help stabilize and rebuild communities affected by conflict or emergencies, as well as preventing child marriages, teen pregnancies and the human rights violations that arise in conflicts.

An investment in the local economy

School meals demand large scale and regular supplies of food, which is an opportunity to increase local spending. The Nigeria Home Grown School Feeding Programme, for example requires 6.8 million eggs, 70 tonnes of farmed fish and commensurate amounts of pulses and vegetables every week, nearly all of it produced in the area where the children who will consume the food live. In Syria, all the snacks distributed in the schools are procured and produced locally.

Tsoko Misette is part of a women’s group called “Bidiu Bi Buala” (Meal of the village) in the Republic of Congo, which produces Mbala Pinda a healthy and nutritious snack, based on local produce that is then distributed in schools. © WFP/Alice Rahmoun

Linking local production to local consumption creates a stable and predictable market for local farmers, especially smallholder farmers, some 70 percent of whom are women and the mothers of the children who are being fed. This injects money into the local rural economy and stimulates the incomes of women farmers.

There are also business opportunities for women. In Nigeria, some 95,000 women who relied previously on precarious local markets for their income can now count on steady incomes as caterers for the school feeding programme and often to earn extra income catering community events.

An essential investment in people

In many low-income countries, the children in middle childhood and adolescence account for almost 40 percent of the total population. Supporting this age group is the key to future health and wellbeing, good education outcomes, and the development of life-long healthy behaviours, including good dietary habits. A recent study by UNESCO highlights school feeding as one of the interventions with the strongest evidence of impact related to gender parity, equality and inclusion in education.

These young people are the future human capital of nations, and the basis of future productivity of countries globally. The dramatic variation in the World Bank’s Human Capital Index across the world’s economic regions highlights the importance of investing in young people today. Countries which invest in providing learning but fail to invest in the nutrition and health of the learner may stumble on the growth and development path.

Nesma is 9 years old and wants to be a Teacher when she grows up. © WFP/Mohammad Gamal

The COVID-19 crisis makes this all much worse. With schools closed, learning for 1.6 billion children has been compromised, especially for those living in low-income countries and poor households. Issues such as lack of access to internet connectivity, educational levels of parents and limited capacity of education systems to sustain remote learning efforts only exacerbate already existing inequalities.

Adolescent girls and other groups which systematically lack equal access to education are at particular risk. Removed from the school environment, the risk that children will be neglected, abused, or exploited increases, especially for girls. The heightened socioeconomic challenges faced by many households can only increase the already high risks of early marriage, early and unwanted pregnancy, and gender-based violence for girls, and possible recruitment by non-state actors in conflict affected countries.

Partnering in an effective global response: an integrated approach to school health and nutrition when re-opening schools

Countries have an opportunity to use this crisis to build more inclusive, efficient, and resilient education systems, with an integrated school health and nutrition package, at scale. Policy responses will be required to help education systems cope with the immediate impacts of school closures, followed by managing continuity, and improving and accelerating learning.

For vulnerable and disadvantaged girls, transformative school meal programs can be a game-changer.

A collective effort will be needed to safeguard the return to a safe school environment with improved education infrastructure, data systems and school health and nutrition services. Many of these children received elements of an integrated package of school health and nutrition prior the crisis, but these interventions rarely reached the poorest children who needed them the most. Estimates from before the pandemic suggested that needed investments in an essential school health package for all vulnerable children represents some 2.5 percent of the current annual investment in primary education, with a benefit–cost ratio estimated at around USD 10 for every dollar invested.

When you consider the trillions to be gained from girls’ education, this is a remarkably smart investment in the future of the world. Of course, the benefits would go to girls and boys, but for vulnerable and disadvantaged girls, transformative school meal programs can be a game-changer.

INFOBOX

The German development ministry BMZ has become a crucial partner for WFP to strengthen the resilience and development of vulnerable populations particularly in the MENA region and the African continent. As part of the multi-year support received from BMZ, such as for Yemen and Jordan, WFP was able to provide school meals to vulnerable children. At the same time, support to home grown school feeding programmes in Uganda, not only ensured that children received a healthy meal, but further supported smallholder farmers since produce for the school meals were procured locally. In many countries affected by the Covid-19 pandemic such as Mozambique, the support from BMZ and other donors enabled WFP to adjust its programmes and provide take home rations to school children as an alternative to the school meals while schools are closed, so as to mitigate nutritional shortfalls.

Furthermore, BMZ through the Special Initiative One World No Hunger, has since 2016 supported WFP’s nutrition and resilience measures with multi-year contributions that complement the interventions focused on school feeding, thus ensuring that households basic needs are addressed in a sustainable manner and that pregnant/lactating women and their small children receive adequate nutritional support, which is of key importance during the first 1000 days of a child’s life.

Back to overview

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How Smallholders became Commodity Suppliers

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A project by Deutscher Genossenschafts- und Raiffeisenverband e. V.

The Future of Development Politics: Voices from the Parliamentary Groups

A Contribution by Journalist Jan Rübel

Representatives of the six parliamentary groups offer their views on the future of German development cooperation.

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A Contribution by GIZ

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An Interview with Kah Walla

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A Contribution by the TMG Think Tank for Sustainability

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A Contribution by Jan Rübel

The G7 is responding to the worsening global hunger crisis by mobilizing an additional $4.5 billion for this year alone. A key milestone for this in the run-up was the international conference on global food security "Uniting for Global Food Security".

A dashboard as a key tool for global food security

A Contribution by BMZ

The Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS), jointly launched by the German G7 Presidency and the World Bank, released the Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard during COP27: A Rapid Response Tool for Coordinating Global Action for Food Security.

How to govern food systems transformation

A contribution by Daniel Montas and Jan Rübel

The transformation of food systems is regarded as the new magic code, but effective strategies are lacking. A new group of experts discussed the prerequisites for efficiently managing this process. The experts representing politics, youth, civil society, farmers' organizations, private sector, and academia unanimously concluded: transformation is possible, but it needs a strong drive from within.

“We want to overcome hunger and poverty”

An interview with Fernanda Machiaveli

After four years of the Bolsonaro administration, the new Brazilian government is trying to restart its engagement in agroecology, fighting deforestation in the Amazon and protecting indigenous communities and poor families from hunger. An interview with the Vice-minister for Rural Development and Family Farming, Fernanda Machiaveli.

“We have to focus on sustainability”

An interview with Karen Mapusua

Karen Mapusua, President of IFOAM Organics International Network, on the danger of the current fuel crises and inflation to loose track in sustainablity, why organic farmers should be heard and how the word “crisis” has a very different meaning where she lives in Fiji.

Governor's Day with Farmers – For more discussion with local actors

A contribution by William Onura and Larissa Stiem-Bhatia

In agriculture it is important to include political stakeholders in the discourse. To build the bridge between practical application and political action, the think tank TMG launched the Governor's Day with Farmers in Kakamega County, Kenya. Now it took place for the second time. But what are the goals and benefits of the Governor's Day?

The Key to Transforming Food Systems Lies in Inclusive Governance

A Contribution by Daniel Montas

Experts from Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Malawi came together to discuss inclusive governance in a workshop entitled "Inclusive Governance of Food Systems Transformation". Daniel Montas, TMG Research, on the findings.

Podcast: Fighting world hunger together

Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Podcast of the Federal Government

At the start of World Food Week around World Food Day on 16 October, Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that the fight against global hunger will only be successful with international responsibility and solidarity (german only).

Can we democratize data in the age of digital extraction?

A contribution by Clare Crowe Pettersson & Lena Bassermann

The United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) recently adopted new policy guidelines on the use of data and digital technologies in the context of food security and nutrition. What comes next?

"Farmers are smart"

Interview with Maria Andrade

From the lab to the masses: Maria Andrade bred varieties of biofortified sweet potatoes which are now widely used all over the continent. She sets her hope on the transformation of African agriculture.

Small fish with a big potential

A contribution by Paul van Zwieten

African inland fisheries are increasingly reliant on the capture of small fish species that are sundried and traded over long distances. They make an important contribution in alleviating “hidden hunger”: consumed whole, small fish are an important source of micronutrients. Only that, unfortunately, politicians haven’t yet realised this.

One Health – What we are learning from the Corona crisis

A contribution by Dr. May Hokan and Dr. Arnulf Köhncke (WWF)

Due to the coronavirus crisis, the connection between human and animal health has gained new attention. Politicians and scientists are joining forces to propagate the solution: One Health. But what is behind the concept? And can it also guarantee food security for all people worldwide?

Ms Rudloff, what are the benefits of a supply chain law?

By Jan Rübel

The Federal Government is fine-tuning a law that would require companies to ensure human rights – a supply chain law. What are the consequences for the agricultural sector? Dr Bettina Rudloff from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) discusses linking policy fields with added value.

Freed from trade? Towards a fairer EU Trade Agenda

A contribution by Dr. Jan Orbie (University Gent)

‘Fair’ and ‘sustainable’ are key words in Germany’s EU Council Presidency. At the same time, Germany pursues ‘modernization’ of the WTO and ‘rapid progress’ on free trade agreements. Are these goals really compatible? Can we be concerned about fairness and sustainability while continuing with ‘business as usual’?

Borderless food security

A contribution by Christine Wieck

Enabling smallholders to trade across regions and borders promotes food security and economic growth. Although everyone is calling for exactly that, implementation is still difficult

What is wrong with our nutrition in Germany, Mr. Plagge ?

An interview with Jan Plagge (Bioland)

Vitamin-poor nutrition must become more expensive, in-vitro meat is not a panacea, and agricultural systems should be more decentralised. Bioland President Jan Plagge in an interview about the challenge of (future) world nutrition.

African Nutrition - 'Try It at Home'!

A Video Series by Agribusiness TV and GIZ

Share in the taste of African Nutrition – Try it at home! The mini-series showcases traditional, nutritious dishes across the African continent.

Côte d’Ivoire: The Future Starts With Food

A Contribution by GIZ

How nutrition trainer Edwige helps cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire to prepare for a healthier future.

Diversity Is the Fundamental Principle to Use

An Interview with Shakuntala Thilsted

A conversation with aquatic researcher Shakuntala Thilsted on the long-neglected nutrition benefits of aquatic diets and the empowering qualities of a sustainable aqua-food systems transformation.

Food security is more than production volumes and high yields

A Contribution by Adrian Muller, Catherine Pfeifer and Jürn Sanders (FiBL)

Taking Biodiversity Focus Areas under production or abandoning lower yielding, more extensive production systems is the wrong approach to mastering the looming global food crisis, say the authors of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL).

Do import restrictions really benefit the local poor in West Africa?

A contribution by Isabel Knößlsdorfer

Protectionist policies like tariffs supposedly protect domestic producers if they cannot compete with cheaper imported products. Some African countries have therefore opted to impose such import restrictions for a number of products. For the case of chicken imports in Ghana, this study analyses whether restrictions would lead to overall positive or negative welfare effects among households.

The Agri-Food Map: An interactive map to explore sustainable agri-food systems

A Contribution by GIZ

The complex interrelationships of the sustainable transformation of agricultural and food systems are not always easy to understand - the Agri-Food Map, an interactive online app, makes the comprehensive relations accessible by providing a wide range of comprehensibly prepared information.

Felix Phiri and two decades of Agriculture

A Conversation with Felix Phiri

Felix Phiri has been Head of the Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS at the Ministry of Health in Malawi for almost 20 years. A conversation about constants and change.

Policy against disasters

Interview with Thomas Loster

Insurance companies could provide protection during droughts in Africa. How exactly this could be done is what the industry is currently trying to figure out. First experiences are available. An interview with the Managing Director of the Munich Re Foundation, Thomas Loster

„You must be multisectoral in your thinking”

Interview with Adriano Campolina (FAO)

For years, place-based approaches to development have been considered important features in development cooperation, at the BMZ and in FAO. Both organisations are aiming at advancing these approaches: an interview with Adriano Campolina from the FAO on territorial and landscape perspectives.

Is the international community still on track in the fight against hunger?

Interview with Miriam Wiemers (Welthungerhilfe)

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020 shows that the world is not on track to meet the international goal of “zero hunger by 2030”. If we continue at our current speed, around 37 countries will not even have reached a low hunger level by 2030.

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSES FOR MORE SOIL CONSERVATION

With the help of sustainable farming methods, soils can be preserved and made fertile again. The investment required is also worthwhile from a financial perspective.

A project of GIZ

Resilience in times of crisis

Yemen is currently experiencing one of the worst disasters, due to war, hunger and disease outbreaks. The GIZ is locally engaged to improve the nutrition and resilience of Yemenites.

A project of GIZ

Revolutionising Humanitarian Aid

A contribution by Ralf Südhoff

Financial innovations can prevent a crisis turning into a catastrophe. The livelihoods of people in affected areas may well depend on intervention before a crisis – and on risk funds.

"We must mobilise all available resources"

A contribution by Ismahane Elouafi (ICBA)

Freshwater deficits are affecting more and more people throughout the world. In order to counter this, our global food system will have to change, our author maintains. A case for more research on alternative crops and smart water solutions.

Resilient small-scale agriculture: A key in global crises

A contribution by Kerstin Weber and Brit Reichelt-Zolho (WWF)

Biodiversity and sustainable agriculture ensure the nutrition of whole societies. But there is more: These two factors also provide better protection against the outbreak of dangerous pandemics. Hence, the question of preserving ecosystems is becoming a global survival issue.

Visions in agriculture

Video by Frank Schultze and Jan Rübel

At the beginning of December 2018, AGRA's board of directors met in Berlin. The "Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa" panel discussed the next steps in their policy of modernizing agriculture. How to go on in the next ten years? One question - many answers from experts.

The Forest Maker and his director

Double interview with Tony Rinaudo and Volker Schlöndorff

Tony Rinaudo uses conventional reforestation methods to plant millions and millions of trees – and Volker Schlöndorff is filming a cinema documentary about the Australian. The outcome so far: An educational film on behalf of the BMZ (Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development).

Not waiting for a savior

An article by Lidet Tadesse

While Africa is the least affected region by Covid-19 so far, the number of confirmed cases and deaths on the continent is quickly rising. Despite the challenges many African countries continue to face, the African response to the coronavirus pandemic displays innovation and ingenuity.

A partnership to fight hunger

A contribution by GAFSP

The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) was launched by the G20 countries in 2010 in response to the 2008-09 food price crisis to increase both public and private investment in agriculture. An overview of the programme's approach, results and impact.

Good health is impossible without healthy food

A contribution by Heino von Meyer

Corona makes it even more difficult to achieve a world without hunger by 2030. So that this perspective does not get out of sight, Germany must play a stronger role internationally - a summary of the Strategic Advisory Group of SEWOH.

"Extreme is the new normal"

A report by Alexander Müller and Jes Weigelt (TMG)

As the climate changes, the population of Africa is growing and fertile land and jobs are becoming scarcer. New ways are currently leading to urbanisation of agriculture and a new mid-sized sector in the countryside

This is how developing countries can adapt better to droughts

A contribution by Michael Brüntrup (DIE) und Daniel Tsegai (UNCCD)

Droughts are the natural disasters with far-reaching negative consequences. While rich countries are still vulnerable to drought, famines are no longer found.

Land Rights, Gender and Soil Fertility in Benin

A contribution by Dr. Karin Gaesing and Prof. Dr. Frank Bliss (INEF)

Especially in densely populated areas, land pressure leads to overexploitation of available land and a lack of conservation measures. The West African country of Benin, with heavily depleted soils in many places, is no exception.

UNFSS Pre-Summit: What did it achieve?

Interview with Martina Fleckenstein (WWF), Michael Kühn (WHH) and Christel Weller-Molongua (GIZ)

After the summit means pre-summit: It was the first time that the United Nations held a summit on food systems. Martina Fleckenstein, Michael Kühn and Christel Weller-Molongua reviewed the situation in this joint interview.

How can the private sector prevent food loss and waste?

An interview with David Brand (GIZ)

From a circular food system in Rwanda to functioning cooled transports in Kenya: The lab of tomorrow addresses development challenges such as preventing food loss and waste

Food System Transformation Starts and Ends with Diversity

A Contribution by Emile Frison and Nick Jacobs (IPES-Food)

While having failed to solve the hunger problem, industrial agriculture appears to be causing additional ones both in environmental and health terms. Emile Frison and Nick Jacobs call for a transformation.

A New Mindset to Reform Agriresearch

A Contribution by Lennart Woltering (CGIAR)

In context of the 15th CGIAR System Council Meeting, Lennart Woltering shares his assessment of the ongoing One CGIAR reform process.

Building climate-resilient and equitable food systems: Why we need agroecology

Agroecological methods target diversity and resilience and can thus promote the protection of forests, water and soil. Julia Tomalka and Christoph Gornott, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), on the potential of agroecology to safeguard against climate change and build resilient agri-food system.

How are transformation and crisis intervention related, Dr. Frick?

An Interview by Jan Rübel

Martin Frick has been director of the WFP office in Berlin for a year – since then one hunger crisis has followed another. What are the diplomat's answers? A conversation about opportunities in agriculture, the interplay of multiple crises, the importance of resilience and tighter budgets.

5 Questions for Jann Lay: What is Corona doing to the economy?

Interview with Jann Lay (GIGA)

The Corona pandemic is hitting economies around the world very hard - but developments in African countries are quite diverse. There are different speeds, resiliences and vulnerabilities. What are the reasons for this? Apl. Prof. Jann Lay of the GIGA Institute provides answers.

Agricultural prices and food security – a complex relationship

A Contribution by Dr. Fatima Olanike Kareem and Dr. Olayinka Idowu Kareem

High agricultural prices affect developed and developing countries alike, but the problem is aggravated for the latter through the lack of or inadequate resilience measures. Dr. Fatima Olanike Kareem, AKADEMIYA2063, and Dr. Olayinka Idowu Kareem, University of Hohenheim, explain what can be done to mitigate the negative effects on food security.

“It created hope. It created a life”

An interview with Ally-Raza Qureshi, WFP

Iraq suffered many years of war, sanctions and economic crises. However, Ally-Raza Qureshi from the World Food Programme in Iraq sees progress. But now the effects of climate change are becoming apparent in the country. What is to be done?

What is needed for a long-term fertiliser strategy?

A contribution by Michael Brüntrup

The world is currently experiencing a historic food crisis. High fertiliser prices are part of the problem. In addition to the necessary short-term aid measures, the crisis ought to be made use of to develop and implement longer-term fertiliser strategies for sustainable, in particular smallholder increases in production in the Global South.

Gender Justice – a Precondition for Resilience

A contribution by IFPRI

Women and girls in poorer countries are affected in particular ways by the multiple crises the world is currently facing. Uncovering the linkages between gender, resilience and food security, experts from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) look at ways to support women and girls’ capacity to respond to crises.

The Power of the Urban

An Interview by Jan Rübel

Cities play an important role in the transformation of food systems. But what exactly are the potentials and challenges? A three-way discussion between Ruth Okowa (Gain), Delphine Larrousse (World Vegetable Center) and Conrad Graf von Hoyos (GIZ).

School Feeding: A unique platform to address gender inequalities

By UN World Food Programme (WFP)

An essential safety net for poor children and their families

An investment in the local economy

An essential investment in people

Partnering in an effective global response: an integrated approach to school health and nutrition when re-opening schools

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