By Nokuthaba Dlamini
Zimbabwe, a country ravaged by the El Niño-induced drought, has been grappling with severe food shortages, leaving millions of people, including school children, on the brink of starvation.
The El Niño phenomenon, a natural climate cycle, has caused widespread droughts in Southern Africa, resulting in crop failures, water scarcity, and livestock deaths. Zimbabwe, in particular, has been severely affected, with nine million people requiring urgent food aid.
Against this backdrop, the government has announced a feeding program for schools, aiming to provide at least one hot meal per day to students.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Torerayi Moyo, at the National Association of School Heads conference in Victoria Falls last week.
“We are happy to announce that in the next two weeks, we will receive a food consignment for all schools in Zimbabwe to feed our learners,” Moyo said.
The government has secured assistance from President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Ministry of Agriculture to release 900 tonnes of maize meal to schools nationwide. This initiative is part of Zimbabwe’s commitment to the School Meals Coalition, which aims to provide one meal per day to school children.
“Zimbabwe is a signatory to the School Meals Coalition, and we pledged to provide one meal per day. Now that we have the resources, let’s feed our children and fight the effects of drought,” Moyo emphasized.
The feeding program comes as a relief to many schools, where students have been struggling to concentrate due to hunger. With the drought showing no signs of abating, this initiative is a crucial step towards ensuring that Zimbabwe’s children receive the nutrition they need to learn and thrive.