M’Mbelwa District Council early childhood development (ECD) coordinator Kondwani Viano says school-feeding programmes have motivated learners to attend classes in the district.
The programme, funded by the World Food Programme (WFP), is running in primary and community-based childcare centres (CBCCs).
Speaking on Saturday during a quarterly review meeting before Mzimba District Nutrition Coordinating Committee, Viano said the programme, which seeks to provide nutrition support to young children, has improved attendance of learners in CBCCs.
He said: “The programme has been helpful in increasing enrolment and improving the overall well-being of young children in various communities.
“For instance, at Makhuwira Community-Based Childcare Centre in Traditional Authority Khosolo, enrolment has grown from 30 to 50 while in Edingeni in T/A M’Mbelwa enrolment has jumped from 60 to 100.”
M’Mbelwa district school health and nutrition coordinator Judith Chowe said the programme owes its success to comprehensive approach and community engagement.
She said: “The children enjoy eating food at their schools which has led to improved attendance and performance.
“The programme’s comprehensive approach includes providing nutritious food to learners and disease prevention mechanisms such as providing macro nutrients, conducting deworming and bilharzia prevention activities.”
However, she said despite the project’s success, it faces various challenges such as theft of commodities, low community participation, inadequate funds for fuel used in monitoring and instability of food prices.
“To address the challenges, the programme plans to implement security measures, develop strategies to mitigate fluctuations and improve record keeping and monitoring systems,” said Chowe.
M’Mbelwa District Council nutrition officer Gift Simkonda also commended the programme for its positive impact.
The WFP says it will continue supporting the initiative, which aims to improve the health and well-being of children in local communities
