Edgar Twinomujuni
Uganda has an opportunity to transform its approach to school feeding by establishing a unified national framework. Currently, over 50 percent of learners don't access daily meals at school, directly impacting learning outcomes and human capital development critical to achieving Uganda's National Development Plan IV goals.
Research by the World Bank (2024) confirms that school feeding programmes increase enrollment and attendance, especially in low-income communities. In regions like Karamoja, where the World Food Programme (WFP) has active feeding programmes, school meals serve as a powerful incentive for attendance, addressing the 26 percent out-of-school rate reported by UBOS (2024) among children aged 6-12.
Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) models create a triple-win solution: Better nutrition for students, reliable markets for local farmers, and stronger food systems overall. This aligns with the Parish Development Model (PDM) by stimulating rural economies. The African Union recognises HGSF as a transformative approach for food systems development.
By sourcing locally, these programmes ensure meals are fresh, nutritious, and culturally appropriate while strengthening food sovereignty and creating economic opportunities. As Uganda prepares to launch its national school feeding policy, the focus should be on designing an inclusive model that works for every child and supports farmers. The Uganda Social Protection Strategy (2024-2029) recognises school feeding as a key instrument for addressing inequality and supporting vulnerable regions like Karamoja.
The evidence for investment is compelling. According to WFP data, every USD 1 invested in school meals returns USD 9 through improved health, education, and productivity. Success stories abound For many years, WFP has provided meals across school levels in Karamoja, where poverty, malnutrition, conflict, and harsh weather undermine livelihoods.
The programme currently reaches over 255,000 students with daily hot meals. These realities call for a mixed approach as we design a national programme that maps areas where the government and partners can support school meals while scaling up parental engagement nationwide. In 2025, the Government of Uganda committed Shs500 million annually for the “Karamoja Feeds Karamoja” initiative, representing growing political action toward national school-feeding investment. Uganda's cost of inaction is telling.
Over 2.4 million children under five are stunted, and 750,000 suffer from wasting (UDHS, 2022). Hunger in school worsens these conditions, undermining cognitive development and reducing lifetime earnings by up to 20 percent.
While recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, many regions across the country still face stunting rates above 30 percent and limited access to school meals. Globally, malnutrition cuts GDP by 3–11 percent—a reality Uganda cannot afford. School feeding programmes increase enrollment by 9 percent and attendance by 15 percent, with greater gains for girls (World Bank, 2022). Yet Uganda remains without a dedicated national school feeding budget, despite its integration into national development plans.
Encouragingly, the government has indicated that a dedicated budget line will be established in the 2025/2026 financial year, a promising step toward nationwide implementation. Investing just Shs500 per child daily could be transformative. With approximately 10 million learners and 200 feeding days, this would generate Shs1 trillion annually in structured demand.
If half went to milk, it would create a reliable market worth Shs500 billion for dairy farmers, equivalent to purchasing 1 billion litres of milk, a substantial boost to an industry that produces 2.8 billion litres annually but faces demand bottlenecks. A national school feeding programme is not merely a social service but a strategic investment in Uganda's human capital, economic development, and future prosperity. The time to act is now.
Mr Edgar Twinomujuni is a World Food Programme Uganda school feeding expert.
