These Regional school nutrition guidelines for SADC Member States respond to Member States' requests for guidelines on school health and nutrition programs. Most SADC Member States implement school nutrition programs aimed at improving learning outcomes, while increasingly considering multi-sectoral benefits like agriculture, health, and social protection. However, the standards for these programs vary and may not align with their objectives, prompting the need for a guide providing minimum principles and a common monitoring framework. School nutrition has been identified as a key element to advance the objective of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-2025 (CESA) which seeks to build, rehabilitate, preserve education infrastructure and develop policies that ensure a permanent, healthy and conducive learning environment in all sub-sectors and for all, to expand access to quality education. The guidelines for school nutrition programs emphasize the need to consider each country's context and needs, determining beneficiaries, food baskets, modalities, and procurement sources. Key components include (i) Program Design and Implementation: Objectives should target education, health, nutrition, economic empowerment, agriculture, and social protection, aiming to improve academic performance, reduce undernutrition and overnutrition, promote healthy eating habits, support local agriculture, and provide food and income transfers. Aligning common objectives across sectors can enhance monitoring and evaluation. (ii) Food Selection: A diversified, nutritious food basket linked to local agricultural production can stimulate local agriculture and increase consumption of locally produced food. Menu design should consider nutritional requirements, food traditions, national dietary guidelines, seasonality, prices, storage, safety, and preparation challenges. (iii) Food Preparation: Often managed by parents or community volunteers, with private caterers sometimes hired. It is crucial to involve communities in meal preferences, ensure adequate facilities and utensils, respect traditional food preferences, and assess the knowledge of those involved. Recommendations include providing incentives to community cooks and harmonized training for all involved. (iv) Meal Planning: Involves consultation with relevant ministries and stakeholders, ensuring diverse menus that promote good dietary practices and include locally produced foods. Regular review and feedback from schoolchildren, cooks, and committees are essential. Recommendations include regular menu rotation and consultation with parents and pupils. (v) Adaptation Strategies: Essential for ensuring continuity of school meals during holidays or emergencies. Adaptation strategies should align with the Multilateral Checklist for School Re-openings and include key considerations such as beneficiary-centered interventions, coverage for in-school and out-of-school children, and using appropriate modalities for meal delivery. Recommendations emphasize the need for clear strategies to maintain program benefits during emergencies. The effectiveness of school nutrition programs is enhanced when a designated institution is accountable for the program and complemented by a multi-sectoral coordination mechanism or steering committee involving key ministries such as education, health, agriculture, and local government. Establishing clear linkages between school health, nutrition, and social protection programs is essential. Additionally, strong monitoring and evaluation frameworks are crucial for assessing the programs' impact. However, budget constraints often lead to the monitoring aspect being overlooked, limiting the potential for early optimization at minimal cost. The socio-economic benefits of school nutrition programs in education, health, agriculture, and social protection are significant, with growing evidence to support these advantages.
2021-05-01