President William Ruto has ordered the rollout of a national school meals programme across Kenya from the first term of 2027.
The programme will target learners in lower primary, upper primary and junior secondary schools as the Government moves to expand access to school meals.
Ruto made the announcement on Tuesday in a speech read on his behalf by Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua during the Fourth Kenya Social Protection Conference in Kabete, Nairobi.
The President directed the Ministry of Education to work with the Labour and Social Protection Ministry, National Treasury and other stakeholders to prepare the policy, financing, governance and implementation framework for the programme.
The Government currently provides meals to about 2.6 million learners, mainly targeting vulnerable children in arid and semi-arid areas and other food-insecure communities. It has set a target of reaching 10 million learners by 2030.
The latest directive gives the Government a specific timeline for expanding the programme nationally, although Ruto did not clarify whether every school in the country would immediately be covered.
The expansion is expected to ease the burden on families struggling to provide meals for their children while helping improve school attendance and learning.
However, financing remains a major issue.
An analysis by the Institute of Public Finance estimates that feeding 10 million learners at an indicative cost of Sh20 per child per school day for 200 days would require about Sh40 billion annually.
The Government has also been promoting a home-grown school meals model that links schools with local farmers.
Under the model, public funds used to provide food to learners can also create a reliable market for farmers producing maize, beans, vegetables and other food.
The national programme will therefore have to address not only the number of children covered, but also financing, food supply, storage, transport and accountability.
Ruto said the nationwide rollout would form part of wider efforts to strengthen social protection and support poor and vulnerable families.
The three-day Kenya Social Protection Conference is running from September 29 to October 1.