First Lady Rachel Ruto rallies global partners behind Kenya’s school meals drive

First Lady Rachel Ruto has urged global partners to support Kenya's ambitious school meals drive, aiming to provide nutritious meals to 10 million learners by 2030. Speaking at a meeting in New York, Ruto emphasized the importance of a nutritious meal in enhancing education, boosting farmers' incomes, advancing climate action, and investing in the nation's future.

Kenya has already expanded school meals coverage from 1.8 million learners in 2023 to 2.6 million. Ruto praised Kenya's school meals programme, which has been shaped by initiatives such as Maziwa ya Nyayo, linking nutrition with local food production and livelihoods. The Government is deepening the programme through the Mama Kitchen Garden Initiative and the National School Milk Programme.

The First Lady also highlighted nutrition interventions in counties like Migori, Nakuru, Kilifi, Baringo, and Makueni, with plans to expand further. Kenya joined the Global School Meals Coalition in 2021 and launched the National School Meals Coalition in October 2024, targeting universal coverage by 2030. The programme, however, faces a Sh6.6 billion funding shortfall.

Ruto stressed that financing remains a major challenge and called for international partnerships to demonstrate how school meals can address nutrition, agriculture, environmental conservation, and community resilience.