The importance of school feeding programs and conducive learning environments took center stage during a key breakout session at the Continental Education Conference, which kickstarted on December 9, 2024 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, with experts highlighting the transformative potential of integrated approaches to education in Africa.

Dr. Hameed Nuru, Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) African Union Global Office, presented compelling evidence about the impact of school feeding initiatives across the continent. He revealed that in 2022, approximately 66 million African children received school meals, demonstrating the extensive reach of these programs. Notably, 84 percent of school feeding programs in Africa are funded by national governments, showing strong domestic commitment to these initiatives.

The economic impact of these programs was particularly striking, with Dr. Nuru revealing that every dollar invested in school feeding yields a return of up to $35, making it one of the most cost-effective interventions in education. This return on investment encompasses improved learning outcomes, enhanced health metrics, and broader economic benefits for local communities.

Expanding municipal finance for cities in Africa is vital for fostering resilient, inclusive, and sustainable cities in Africa, say experts attending an Experts Group Meeting this week to review and validate the Financial Performance Assessment Report of Nairobi City in Naivasha, Kenya.

According to the experts deliberating the Review of Nairobi City’s Financial Performance Assessment Report, ensuring municipalities have the financial resources they need is key to tackling issues like rapid population growth, climate change, and economic disparities effectively, and driving local development. The meeting has been organized in collaboration with UN-Habitat, UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and Nairobi City County and is geared towards validating and enriching the financial assessment report of the City of Nairobi.

The review is part of an ongoing project known, in UN parlance as the Development Account, which seeks to accompany six selected cities in cities in Africa – Addis Ababa, Dar Es Salam, Kigali, Lusaka, Nairobi, and Yaoundé – and assess their fiscal space limitations due increased to challenges of meeting development needs, including infrastructure and housing, healthcare and education in the post-Covid era.