Africa-Press – Botswana. Fostering sustainable development through education and nutrition requires a multi sectoral approach,Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development deputy permanent secretary, Ms Mmamiki Kamanakau has said.
Ms Kamanakau, who was speaking at the African Union Development Agency Multisectoral Workshop on Domestication of the AUDA-NEPAD guidelines in Gaborone on Tuesday said the role of World Food Organization (WFO) was crucial in addressing food insecurity and promoting holistic development.
She said WFO provided expertise and resources to tailor approaches and maximise impact for the country based on critical international, continental and national frameworks.
“We want to lend ourselves to those frameworks and see how we can bring them here at home and contextualise them for our situation as Botswana,” she said.
Ms Kamanakau said SDGs and Agenda 2063 talked about the ‘Africa we want’ as guiding beacons illuminating the path towards a more equitable and prosperous sustainable future.
She said such aspirations would not be attained if the children who are the future were not well developed.
She said within the context of supplementary feeding schemes in Botswana, several SDGs emerged as pivotal cornerstones for their endeavors as SDG 2 talked of zero hunger.
She further said the same SDG were at the centre of the government’s mission of eradicating hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture.
Ms Kamanakau said by ensuring that every child had access to nutritious meals, they laid a strong foundation for their holistic development and contributed to the realization of SDG 3 of good health and wellbeing.
She said supplementary feeding programmes contributed in advancing SDG4 of quality education by addressing malnutrition and promoting healthy growth and cognitive development.
The programmes, she said enhanced children’s capacity to learn, to thrive and contribute meaningfully to society.
By so doing, she said they paved the way for inclusive and equitable education empowering future generations to reach their full potential.
Ms Kamanakau said their efforts also resonated with aspirations of Agenda 2063 by prioritising investment in human capital particularly through initiatives such as home grown school feeding program.
She reaffirmed their commitment to fostering sustainable development, economic growth and social cohesion. She also said the government took over supplementary feeding programme in 1998 targeting 387 032 pupils in 768 Primary Schools as was initially aimed at promoting school attendance and combating hunger.
She further said the menu was later revised to include fruits and vegetables and government transitioned from supplementary to full feeding to primary and pre-learners introducing breakfast meals and third meals in remote areas.
The deputy permanent secretary said home school feeding supported local farmers as it ensured there was economic inclusion contributing to economic growth, food security and community resilience laying the foundation for prosperous future of communities.
For his part, AUDA-NEPAD acting head of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Clement Adjorlolo said Botswana was one of the 15 countries where AUDA-NEPAD launched the home grown school feeding in 2003.
He said 80 per cent of home grown school feeding was funded by domestic budget though it varied widely.
He also said there had been recent renewal of efforts and dedication to ensure home grown school feeding is planned for and implemented successfully on the continent.
He said data compiled from the African Union showed that about 65 million children in 51 countries benefited from school feeding across the continent.
He further said school feeding programme addressed malnutrition and improved children’s health and educational accounts while it boosted agricultural value chains. He said statistics indicated that 27 percent of children in Sub Saharan Africa had access to school meals affecting learning outcomeDr Adjorlolo said the programmes were to be designed and implemented to stimulate economic growth and support local food value chains.
He said it in-turn reduced reliance on food importation and collectively would contribute to averting large food import.
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