borkena
October 14, 2019
Addis Ababa City Administration launched on Monday a school feeding program for 300,000 needy students in the Ethiopian capital.
The City-run program will cover from preschool to eighth grades in all public schools, according to a report by state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate on Monday.
Apart from benefiting those needy students, the program has created employment opportunities for more than 10,000 mothers in the city.
Government says that it has planned program expansion to include students up to grade 12, and it could start as early as the next academic year if what the city administration is true.
With meager or no stable income, the skyrocketing cost of living in the country, especially in the capital Addis Ababa, has pushed millions of households to a point of abject poverty so much so that many were unable to provide a meal to their children going to schools.
The trend had a negative impact on the performance of students and a school dropout rate was high. Students used to fall asleep in class and attendance rate was also poor based on reports from relief agencies.
Based on a Reuters report in January 2019, Addis Ababa City administration allocated around 169 million birr for the school feeding program during the last academic year, and the program covered more than 70,000 students.
It is unclear how much the city administration is spending on the school feeding program this year.
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