A meal a day is a strong incentive for children to go to school and Achieve their Full Potential

Diaz Primary School, in the town of Lüderitz on Namibia’s southwestern coast, is one of more than 1,500 schools in the country providing meals to learners from food insecure families. Nearly 500 girls and boys go to the school, and know they’ll get a warm, nutritious meal – for many, their only meal of the day – consisting of maize meal, fish and fresh bread.

“A child who regularly receives a nutritious meal has better grades than those who don’t”, says Clara Boer, coordinator of Namibia’s National School Feeding Programme. Indeed, that government-led enterprise, supported by WFP, yields dividends beyond the curbing of hunger. By helping to keep children alert, it fosters their interest in, and focus on lessons, enabling them to better retain what they’re taught, thereby building and enriching Namibia’s human capital. Crucially, the programme also helps shield its recipients from potentially debilitating infections.

While a national COVID-19 resultant lockdown forced the closure of schools – and the suspension of the school meals – for the first quarter of 2021, Diaz Primary converted its maize stocks into take-home rations for learners.

Thanks to that, Phillipus Mulamba, a 13-year-old seventh grade pupil, had one meal a day at home during lockdown.

His mother, Vicky, who has four other children, simply couldn’t afford any more, even when the entire family tested positive for COVID and was advised to eat healthy.

Source: World Food Programme