Kenya has been named the 4th co-chair of the School Meals Coalition during the third Ministerial Meeting of the Task Force in Rome, Italy.
The announcement was made at the meeting of the coalition’s core group today, Wednesday. Kenya now joins Brazil, Finland and France in a leadership role, with Finland set to host the next Coalition Summit in 2027.
Speaking at the event, Education CS Julius Migos Ogamba said the country is honoured to officially join other and is committed to sustaining the momentum.
“Kenya is deeply honoured to officially join Brazil, Finland and France as the fourth Co-Chair of the School Meals Coalition.
“As Co-Chair, Kenya is committed to helping sustain this momentum, working alongside Brazil, Finland and France, and with all Coalition members and partners, to champion national ownership and sustainable financing, support greater cooperation, and ensure that the experiences and leadership of Africa remain central to the Coalition,” stated CS Ogamba.
CS Ogamba added: “We take this responsibility with a strong sense of commitment and with confidence in the lesson that the Coalition has already manifested, that when governments come together around a shared ambition for children, meaningful change is possible.”
Noting the progress made in Kenya, CS Ogamba mentioned the cooking programme being rolled out to support the initiative.
“In Kenya, we are rolling out the clean cooking programme, to explore the possibility of carbon financing to support our School Meals Programme.
“We are also working on a pioneering debt-for-food conversion with WFP as a pathway to increasing investment in school meals over the coming years. This would redirect savings from debt servicing towards long-term investment in food security and resilience.”
Kenya’s school feeding programme dates back to the 1980s with support from the World Food Programme. The government has set a target of reaching 10 million learners by 2030, though the programme currently reaches about 3.2 million learners’
The School Meals Coalition comprises 113 countries, six regional bodies and over 160 partners.
It was launched in 2021 and works to ensure every child receives a nutritious meal in school, recognizing school meals as a key investment in education, health and food systems.