Harnessing Home Grown School Feeding and Food Safety in Africa
Future generations will judge us by what we do today through home grown school feeding programmes and food safety standards that are put in place - sentiment expressed by African countries represented at the food safety and home grown school feeding guidelines development working sessions in Accra, Ghana
Accra, December 6, 2019 - Countries currently implementing Home Grown School Feeding programmes in Africa have different aspirations on what the feeding programmes should achieve. However, several challenges are encountered in the implementation of school feeding programmes, and the transition to home grown school feeding often lacks systematic implementation, including insufficient measures in food safety and quality management systems.
In a 2018 study by FAO on the status of school feeding programmes in Africa, it was found that current programmes implemented by governments in 41 countries still face numerous challenges. These include low coverage; lack of dietary guidelines; weak policy frameworks, poor sectoral coordination with weak monitoring and evaluation.
Findings also suggest that the programme objectives that are in place are limiting and not comprehensive enough to guide implementers toward the full benefits, and particularly potential benefits of home grown school feeding programmes. For instance, most school feeding programmes are designed mainly to increase school attendance and retention (education objectives) by ensuring that children are not hungry, and only to a lesser extent, do they aim to improve nutrition, support local agriculture or empower communities.
In order to reverse this situation, the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) is developing Home Grown School Feeding Implementation Guidelines for the continent. Together with the Ghana School Feeding programme, AUDA-NEPAD convened a session in Accra, Ghana, to develop implementation guidelines and monitoring tool for more efficient and effective implementation of home grown school feeding programmes.
Ghana’s Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Cynthia Morrison lauded AUDA-NEPAD for bringing together various African countries to work on improving school feeding programmes and food safety. The Minister made the case for owning the nutrition and food safety agenda in Africa, accentuating the fact that, “Whatever we do in nutrition is for children, who are the heart of home grown school feeding programmes.”
Earlier this year, more than 3000 people were trained in the Ashanti Region in Ghana together with AUDA-NEPAD on the school meal planner tool for home grown school feeding programmes. Currently, Ghana is reaching out to just over 8600 schools and feeds 2, 848,580 pupils in its feeding programme.
Ms Kefilwe Rhoba Moalosi, AUDA-NEPAD’s Senior Nutrition Officer stated that, “The goals of Agenda 2063 for a healthy and prosperity Africa cannot be achieved if hunger is endemic in Africa.” She added that “AUDA-NEPAD is committed to strengthening Institutional Capacities for Improved and Harmonised Food Safety Standards and Legislations to adopt food safety and quality management frameworks that combat food safety hazards.”
It is expected that harmonising food safety standards, legislations and regulations will reduce the burden of food-borne illnesses and improve trade and incomes in Africa Union Member States. It will also result in food safety prioritisation and improved institutional capacity to enforce food safety standards and legislations in the Regional Economic Communities.
During the proceedings, Pan African Parliament representative from Niger, Hon. Amina Abdou Souna and the President of the Committee in Education lauded AUDA-NEPAD on convening the wokring sessions on home grown school feeding and food safety. She pointed out that development in Africa cannot take place if hunger and malnutrition are not systematically addressed with sound guidelines and effective food safety measures.
Mr Ernest Aubee, Head of the Agriculture Divisionin ECOWAS, emphasised that importance of home grown school feeding programmes stating that, “Good food for children will allow those children to grow up to be respectable citizens.”
