Following the effects of the El Niño drought that affected most countries in the Southern Africa region in the 2023/2024 summer agriculture season, food insecurity is a pressing issue in Lesotho.

The country relies on imported food, mainly from neighboring South Africa, for at least 70% of its food. Farmers face significant hurdles, including high production costs and losses, insufficient investment in climate-resilient crop varieties and limited access to sustainable markets.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sam Matekane, the government of Lesotho is taking measures to address these challenges, and its strategies include joining the School Meals Coalition.

In August last year, the government unveiled a series of commitments aimed at enhancing school meals to drive a food system transformation that would strengthen support for small-holder farmers.

Lesotho plans to source 80% of school food from local farmers, and it is also committed to increasing the national school meals budget by at least 50% for the 2024/2025 fiscal year, to support its partnership efforts with the local farmers and other actors that will contribute to the improvement of school meals.

Efforts to raise the cost of each meal from US$0.19 to US$0.43 over the next three years will improve the school menu and nutrition.

Strengthening Lesotho's education through nutrition: The catalyzing role of technical assistance

The government of Lesotho, GPE and the World Food Programme (WFP) have recently held multistakeholder consultations for the implementation of the School Health and Nutrition Technical Assistance Facility, which is being piloted in Lesotho as one of GPE’s technical assistance initiatives.

A key part of the consultations involved children, teachers and cooks at St. Agnes Primary School, which is supported by the government and provides nutritious meals to 300 students each school day.

The visit emphasized the importance of school meals to children like 10-year-old Thato who shared, “The food I eat at school is my first meal of the day. It is special because I get to eat with my friends. After eating, I am always active in class.”

This new initiative, supported by GPE and WFP, will foster partnerships and align school nutrition initiatives with the country’s broader education goals. Within the School Meals Coalition, this facility will support Lesotho’s national commitments to school meals, submitted to the Coalition in 2023, and foster the implementation of the 2024 national school feeding policy, emphasizing a series of initiatives to improve the program.

The initiative aims to reinforce Lesotho’s National School Meals Program, which has a long history dating back to 1961, and currently provides a hot meal to 297,000 primary school children every school day.

The program remains a lifeline for many children, particularly those from families who are food insecure.

Through the program, staples like maize, peas and oil are delivered to schools where local cooks prepare them and enrich them with vegetables from their school garden as well as with beans, eggs and vegetables delivered by local smallholder farmers when available.

“This model is efficient because we are now able to receive supplies early and paying the cooks and suppliers on time”, said Jubilee Ntloana, the National School Meals Coordinator at the Ministry of Education and Training.

Other efforts shaping school meals in Lesotho include the introduction of school nutrition gardens in some schools. Children at St. Agnes are learning how to grow corn and vegetables such as spinach, tomatoes, onions and carrots.

Edith Moru, a teacher at the school, highlighted efforts to promote and instill healthy eating habits: “This garden serves both to supplement the students’ meals and to teach the children valuable agricultural skills they can use at home to grow their own food and when they become adults. This will support efforts to improve agricultural production and food security.”

Widening stakeholder consultations to increase impact for children

Consultations with various government ministries, nongovernmental organizations including those representing local communities and international partners, emphasized the need for cross-sectoral collaboration for Lesotho to realize all the benefits of school meals as a safety net for child well-being, positive development and academic success.

The need to invest in building strong partnerships and fostering a holistic approach that is mindful of the broader social and educational ecosystem dominated all discussions.

Some speakers highlighted the importance of effective inter-ministerial coordination and innovation for sustainable financing in the face of funding challenges. Lessons shared include finding ways to optimize current resources and exploring alternative funding options.

The alignment of the mission's goals with the National School Feeding Program reaffirmed the program’s relevance in Lesotho's fight against food insecurity and educational inequities.

At a workshop led by the Ministry of Education and Training, stakeholders including representatives from government, civil society organizations and the private sector focused on identifying priority actions for the Technical Assistance Facility.

Speaking during its official opening, Thuto Ntsekhe, Chief Education Officer at the Ministry of Education and Training, explained how pivotal the consultations and the Technical Assistance Facility are in Lesotho’s journey to strengthen and expand the National School Meals Program: “The Technical Assistance Facility is not just about technical support, it’s about enhancing our country’s capacities to drive forward a school meals program that is sustainable, effective, and truly beneficial to our children and communities.”

Participants at this workshop shared their insights on how school meals can be integrated into national development plans by building consensus through small group discussions mapping program priorities.

A comprehensive list of potential initiatives was developed, leading to the identification of priority focus areas for implementation starting in January 2025, which include support on devising sustainable financing initiatives, and institutional capacity strengthening, as well as programmatic improvements on menus and stronger links to smallholder farmers.

Investing in school meals: An integrated solution for education and health challenges

Although over the years, sustained investment in education has increased literacy rates in Lesotho, in recent times this has been on the decline. In addition to addressing education quality, one of the main concerns Lesotho faces is the triple burden of malnutrition—the problem of underweight, overweight and obesity impacting the entire population, especially children.

An estimated 33% of children under the age of 2 have stunted development and if this is not addressed early, their cognitive development and academic performance could be affected.

The successful consultations held as part of the School Health and Nutrition Technical Assistance Facility reinforced the importance of integrating nutrition and health into broader educational strategies.

The involvement of children, schools, local communities, government ministries and development partners demonstrated a strong commitment to work as a collective, using local solutions to build a locally driven and sustainable program.

As Lesotho moves towards the next phase of implementing these initiatives, key lessons from this mission will be vital in ensuring the success of school health and nutrition programs across the country.