Cairo: Children benefiting from national school meal programs across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) increased by 22 percent in the past two years alone, despite conflict, economic downturn, and the region's complex humanitarian landscape. Now reaching 23.5 million children, these programs are emerging as a strategic investment in education, nutrition, and economic development.
According to EMM, the latest edition of the State of School Feeding Worldwide, a flagship biennial report released today by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), outlines the impact of these initiatives. WFP Regional Director for MENA and Eastern Europe Samer Abdeljaber expressed pride in partnering with MENA governments, who are leveraging school meals as a tool for human and economic development. He emphasized the programs' importance in a region facing economic pressures and humanitarian crises.
Abdeljaber noted that the return on investment in school feeding extends beyond the classroom. The programs create jobs for cooks and transporters, income for farmers and suppliers, and stronger local economies. WFP-led initiatives in Egypt are linking school feeding to local agricultural production, providing stable income for farmers and reducing reliance on imports. In Jordan and Yemen, WFP launched a Healthy Kitchens initiative to provide home-grown school meals, creating jobs for women and supporting local agriculture.
The report precedes the School Meals Coalition Global Summit in Brazil next week, where leaders will gather to accelerate progress and address funding gaps in low-income countries. MENA countries are active members of the School Meals Coalition, a global platform of over 100 governments and 140 partners committed to expanding access to school meals by 2030. Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, and Lebanon are among the countries contributing to this momentum, sharing best practices, and scaling up their programs.
WFP uses its operational expertise to support governments in strengthening their national systems. In Iraq, for example, WFP has supported the transition of school meals programs from relying on WFP for program delivery to full national ownership in 2023. During the 2023-2024 school year, the Government of Iraq provided daily school meals to 775,686 school-aged children, representing nearly 13 percent of primary school students. The government plans to expand coverage to 1.4 million children initially and subsequently the entire 6 million primary school-aged children.
Globally, school meal coverage has reached 466 million children, up nearly 80 million from 2020. Funding has nearly doubled to $84 billion, with 99% coming from national budgets, underscoring governments' strong investment in these programs and their children's future.