School feeding programs in Ethiopia play a critical role in supporting both educational and nutritional outcomes—especially among vulnerable children. School feeding projects were started in Ethiopia earlier as part of project intervention by local NGOs near schools to provide relief food in the form of lunch for vulnerable schoolchildren in Addis Ababa and several regional towns.
The Government produced a number of policy documents with greater bearing on the wellbeing of schoolchildren including their nutritional status at schools. A School Feeding Policy Framework and Implementation Strategy was launched in 2021, formally integrating school feeding into Ethiopia’s national development and social protection agenda. It features in key documents such as The National Social Protection Policy (2012), The Education Sector Development Plan (2020–25), The National Food and Nutrition Strategy (2021) and the National School Health and Nutrition Strategy.
The interconnection between the implementation of these strategies is of critical importance for ensuring healthy education for children in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia delivers school meals through three concurrent modalities, depending on context including Traditional (in-kind) – central government supplies ingredients regionally and meals are prepared on‑site.
Home‑Grown School Feeding (HGSF) – food sourced locally from farmers; parents may contribute fuel, water, or labor. Meals served once daily, typically five days a week during the school year.
Emergency modality – provides hot meals and/ or high-energy biscuits in contexts of conflict, drought, or flooding under Humanitarian Response Plans As of 2023, the program covers roughly 25% of schoolchildren across all regions, reaching over 6 million children.
For instance, World Vision in collaboration with Gambela Region helps to feed over 50,000 South Sudanese refugee children who receive hot meals daily at school, primarily fortified porridge made from Corn Soya Blend Plus (CSB+), vegetable oil, and salt.
Students report increased concentration, better morale, and improved class performance, with attendance rising noticeably.
Through a home-grown feeding initiative, over 34,000 displaced children (including 16,400 girls) received meals, enabling them to return to school and progress academically.
Between 2020–2023, Save the Children implemented a school feeding program in 648 schools across 7 regions, serving 235,000 children in emergency contexts with either daily meals or high-energy biscuits.
The program also supported WASH and hygiene facilities and training. It led to improved enrollment, higher attendance, slight academic gains (2.4 percentage points), and significantly lower dropout rates (6× higher risk among non-beneficiaries).
The World Food Program, in partnership with the Government of Ethiopia, feeds over 400,000 children in Amhara, Afar, Oromia, Tigray, and SNNPR via its home‑grown school feeding approach, sourcing food locally to support smallholder farmers and regional economies.
A US $20 million GPE-funded initiative (2020–22) reached 223,300 children in five regions (Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Sidama, Somali), built kitchens, provided dining halls, and improved school infrastructure. Resulted in better enrollment, attendance, especially for girls, and reintegration of dropouts.
Refugee children are more likely to attend school regularly when meals are guaranteed— WFP and World Vision report significant improvements in presence and retention in Gambella camps. According to reports from these organizations, school feeding programs attract a considerable number of refugee children to regularly attend classes.
Evidence from Sidama Region confirms that students receiving meals missed fewer days (4 vs 9) and achieved higher academic scores (2.4 pp increase), with non‑beneficiaries facing a dropout risk 6× greater .
Programs in partnership with WFP and Save the Children link procurement to local farms, fostering economic benefits beyond nutrition and education.
Many programs prioritized girls, boosting their enrollment and retention rates, especially in settings where school attendance was previously low among girls. Funding disruptions pose a serious risk: In early 2025, the U.S. suspension of foreign aid temporarily halted therapeutic feeding centers run by NGOs like Action Against Hunger in Gambella, impacting malnourished children in refugee settings.
Operational challenges include underpaid kitchen staff, insufficient infrastructure, dependency issues, and food cost inflation— all needing strategic planning for long-term sustainability. Aid diversion and market leakages remain concerns: In broader food assistance contexts, some supplies intended for refugees or IDPs have ended up in markets, reducing program effectiveness.
School feeding programs in Ethiopian refugee camps are vital—not only for combating hunger but also for improving school attendance, reducing dropouts, and driving academic success. The home‑grown approach helps strengthen local economies. While programs by WFP, World Vision, Save the Children, ECW, and UNICEF have shown meaningful results, sustainability hinges on stable funding, adequate infrastructure, and resilience to disruptions-such as political funding freezes.
The government aims to reach 100% of pre‑primary, primary and middle school children by 2030, projecting coverage of 21 million students by 2027.
Ethiopia allocates around USD 85 million annually from its domestic budget toward school feeding—an approach praised by the World Food Program. In Addis Ababa, over 800,000 students now receive two meals a day during the current fiscal year; the city’s own budget was USD 75.5 million in 2022/23, covering 700,000 children
In food-insecure zones, rations typically include 120 g corn–soya blend, 8 g vegetable oil, and 3 g iodized salt, while HGSF menus may include 150 g cereals and beans, oil and salt depending on region. Fresh food pilots now introduce eggs, vegetables, fruit, and animal protein in about 45 schools (15,000 students)
The Home‑Grown School Feeding Program in Addis Ababa, launched in February 2019, is associated with improvements in behavior, a safer environment, and reduced absenteeism and dropouts in multiple qualitative studies.
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 24 JULY 2025
