School Meals Programme

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Muntada Aid is on a journey to transform education at our partner schools in Africa. Apart from building the capacity, we are providing free school meals to children at these institutions.

We are currently running our school meals programme in Uganda, Niger and Mali.

Why it matters

Why school meals?

Across Africa, millions of children go to school on an empty stomach — and research shows that hunger affects their concentration and ability to learn. Girls are especially disadvantaged, kept home for domestic duties.

A school meals programme is a game changer: it keeps children in school, improves attendance, results and health, and builds local jobs and food systems. Muntada Aid has been building education infrastructure across Africa for three decades, and now provides free meals at our partner schools in Uganda, Niger and Mali.

3

countries — Uganda, Niger & Mali

2.5×

girls more likely to miss school in conflict areas

30+ yrs

building education infrastructure in Africa

Uganda

School Meals

As children start early and spend most of the day at school, we provide two and three school meals to children daily throughout the term time. We have a fully functional kitchen onsite, and in the mornings, we provide freshly cooked porridge. The lunch and dinners are a combination of beans and plantain.

We are currently in the process of refurbishing the school building, furniture, bathrooms and also modernising the kitchen and washing areas.

Mali

Current Education Situation in Mali

Although education in Mali has been improving over the last decade, more than two million children aged between 5 to 17 still do not go to school, and over half of Mali's young people aged 15 to 24 are not literate.

Household poverty, child labour, child marriage, insecurity and a lack of schools close to children's homes are all factors driving the high drop-out and out-of-school rate in Mali. Among children that do attend school, the absence of qualified teachers, textbooks and low-quality school environment all adversely affect learning outcomes: the vast majority of students in fifth grade in Mali are not able to master basic mathematics and reading skills.

Niger

Malnutrition in Niger

Malnutrition is a major threat to children's health and development in Niger. According to 2018 data, 15 per cent of children are acutely malnourished in Niger (unchanged since 2006).

As Niger's population continues to grow, the burden of malnutrition will persist unless significant efforts are put into preventing malnutrition that addresses all the multisectoral causes. The number of stunted children is expected to increase by 44 per cent by 2025 owing to population growth.

The country has the world's eleventh highest rate of mortality among children under the age of 5, a population that barely has access to proper sanitation, low school attendance and harmful practices like early marriage.

Niger is a youthful and predominantly rural country. Its population of 21.5 million is 50 per cent female, 80 per cent rural, and 58.2 per cent below the age of 18.

With close to half of Nigeriens living in poverty, the prospects of many children are dim, and they risk becoming the next impoverished generation. About 48 per cent of children live under the monetary poverty line, and 75 per cent of young children under the age of 5 are deprived of three or more essential social services.

Assessments have shown that most students (93 per cent) in primary grades 2 and 5 need help to read or do mathematics properly. Adult literacy is very low — 14 per cent for women and 42 per cent for men.

Girls are less likely to go to school than boys, and children from the poorest homes are 1.6 times more likely to never attend school than children from the wealthiest households.