In line with World Food Programme (WFP’s) School Feeding Strategy (2020-2030) and its Southern Africa Regional Bureau (RBJ), SADC and government commitment to strengthen the implementation of school feeding programmes, WFP entered into an advocacy partnership with the Graça Machel Trust. Through this partnership, WFP will leverage the Trus’t’s expertise and experience in nutrition and the political capital of the Trust’s Founder, Mrs Graça Machel, to advocate for the integration of Nutrition into School Feeding Programmes and open doors for regional and national engagement to position School Feeding Programmes as a National priority which requires increase budgetary allocation and public investment.
Joint efforts will also be made to push for an increased commitment to School Feeding Programme by the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Round Table discussion allowed WFP and the Trust at the management level to identify critical areas and issues for the envisaged collaborative advocacy actions. The round table discussion participants included WFP staff from Headquarters, Regional Beraux, Country offices (Cos) and The Trust’s staff.
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.