By Andrew Mkonda

Lilongwe, March 26, Mana: Government has commended development partners providing quality early childhood development (ECD) services and feeding programme in the country saying thy are vital in improving education standards in the country.

Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Jean Sendeza, made the remarks Tuesday at Zalari Community Based Childcare Centre (CBCC) at Nkhoma in the area of Senior Chief Mazengela in Lilongwe when she launched a feeding programme by World Vision Malawi (WVM).

Sendeza said school feeding programme play a vital role in addressing immediate hunger and enhance concentration, attendance and overall academic performance among learners.

She said the programme serves as an incentive for parents to enroll and keep their children in school thereby reducing dropout rate and promoting sustainable educational engagement.

Sendeza said despite the evident benefits of the school feeding programme, the initiative faces several challenges citing many schools struggling with resources leading to interruptions in meal provisions.

“Let me, therefore, thank World Vision for being a long time partner and a leader in the fight against hunger. This is yet another great milestone as they are scaling up the school feeding programme. We salute them for this gesture,” she said.

Sendeza said, on its part, government has taken several initiatives such as expansion of the Home Grown School Meals (HGSM) programme to districts such as Nkhotakota which has been done in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), and with support from the Government of Iceland.

The initiative provides nutritious meals to 10,000 primary school children and also empowers 1,200 smallholder farmers by sourcing food locally thereby boosting the local economy.

World Vision Country Director, Francis Dube, said since WVM started school feeding programme in 2024 in Phalombe and Mulanje, enrolment has improved by 33 percent.

“As an organization whose work is centered on promoting the well being of children, we believe that a simple meal can change a child’s life as it keeps them in school, help them grow and gives them hope for a better future,” he said.

Dube said it is pathetic that over 37 percent of under five children in the country are stunted due to chronic malnutrition meaning that their bodies and brain are not growing as they should.