‘Kikombe Cha Ndoto’ campaign tackles classroom hunger

DAR ES SALAAM: FOUR out of every ten children in Tanzania’s public schools attend classes without access to school meals, a challenge that education stakeholders say continues to undermine learning despite ongoing investments in the sector.

For many pupils, the school day begins with an empty stomach, making it difficult to concentrate, read fluently or grasp basic numeracy.

Teachers may be ready to teach and classrooms equipped, but when hunger enters the classroom, learning becomes harder.

In response to this challenge, Uwezo Tanzania has launched the Kikombe cha Ndoto (Dream Cup) Campaign, a community-driven initiative aimed at strengthening sustainable school feeding programmes and ensuring that children can learn without the disruption of hunger.

The campaign was launched in Dar es Salaam on March 2, coinciding with the African Day of School Feeding, a continental event that highlights the importance of school meals in improving enrolment, attendance and learning outcomes.

Across the world, evidence consistently shows that school feeding programmes improve children’s academic performance, boost attendance and support healthy growth. Yet in many lowincome countries, millions of pupils still attend school without adequate nutrition.

In Tanzania, government investment in school feeding programmes has increased by 44 per cent, demonstrating growing commitment to improving the learning environment for children. Even so, access to meals remains uneven.

Currently about 61 per cent of pupils in public schools receive meals through support from communities and other stakeholders.

While this progress is encouraging, it still leaves nearly four out of ten children without access to school feeding programmes.

Statistics also show that only about one in four public primary schools consistently provides meals for pupils, meaning a significant number of children spend the school day struggling with hunger. Education experts warn that hunger directly affects learning outcomes.

Studies conducted across Africa show that poor nutrition affects children’s attention, memory and ability to participate actively in the classroom. A hungry child often struggles to concentrate, read confidently or perform basic calculations.

According to Baraka Mgohamwende, Executive Director of Uwezo Tanzania, the organisation’s work over the past two decades has consistently revealed the strong link between nutrition and learning.

“A child cannot learn fully when hungry,” Mr Mgohamwende said during the launch of the Dream Cup Campaign.

Uwezo Tanzania was established in 2008 with the mission of ensuring that every Tanzanian child has the opportunity to master foundational skills in reading, writing and numeracy.

Over the years the organisation has conducted national learning assessments, stimulated public debate about the quality of education and developed innovative interventions aimed at improving children’s learning outcomes.

Through this work, the organisation has found that hunger remains one of the hidden barriers to learning in many schools.

“Experience and evidence from studies across Africa clearly show that poor nutrition affects a child’s attention, memory and ability to participate effectively in the classroom,” Mr Mgohamwende said.

He emphasised that efforts to improve foundational learning must go hand in hand with improving school nutrition.

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“Good education and good nutrition are two sides of the same coin. When a child receives proper nutrition, they enter the classroom with energy and are able to focus better on their studies,” he said.

The Dream Cup Campaign is designed to mobilise communities, the private sector, development partners, the media and parents to support reliable daily school meals.

The initiative promotes community-led school feeding systems while also providing nutritious porridge made from locally available ingredients.

According to organisers, the campaign is rooted in the belief that Tanzanians themselves can play a leading role in addressing challenges facing children’s education.

“The Dream Cup is an idea that was born right here in Tanzania. It is a patriotic initiative rooted in our reality and built on the solidarity of Tanzanians,” Mr Mgohamwende said.

He noted that the campaign seeks to encourage national ownership of school feeding programmes.

“We should not wait for every solution to come from outside our country. Tanzanians can support each other by involving the private sector, development partners, the media, communities and parents,” he said.

Mr Mgohamwende said the campaign is not intended to be a temporary intervention but part of a long-term effort to strengthen the country’s education system.

“This is not a seasonal campaign. It is a national awareness campaign aimed at building a sustainable system that supports school nutrition and learning,” he said.

He added that the initiative also complements the government’s Scientific Literacy and Numeracy Strategy (2025/26–2030), which aims to ensure that all Tanzanian children master basic literacy skills by 2030.

“A simple cup of nutritious porridge in the morning can give a child the energy needed to focus in class and develop reading, writing and numeracy skills at an early stage,” he said.

Government officials have welcomed the campaign as an important complement to national education strategies.

Deputy Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Wanu Hafidh Ameir said the government continues to prioritise the education sector through investments in infrastructure, teachers and improved learning environments.

However, she emphasised that these investments cannot produce the desired results if pupils attend school while hungry.

“Provision of food and nutrition in schools increases enrolment, improves attendance, enhances concentration in class and improves academic performance while reducing absenteeism,” she said.

The Deputy Minister said Tanzania has continued to emphasise the implementation of national school feeding and nutrition services alongside existing policies including the Education Policy of 2014, the Health Policy of 2007 and the National Multisectoral Nutrition Plan.

She added that the Dream Cup Campaign complements broader national strategies aimed at strengthening learning and developing the country’s human capital.

“We already have national guidelines for school feeding and nutrition services. Our responsibility now is to implement them effectively so that school nutrition becomes a sustainable system rather than a seasonal campaign,” she said.

Representing the Commissioner for Education, School Quality Assurance Officer Zahra Rashid said the Ministry of Education has established guidelines to ensure the availability of food in schools.

She said that the availability of meals in schools is one of the issues assessed during school inspections due to its impact on learning outcomes.

“It will be difficult for children to master reading, writing and numeracy skills if they do not receive proper nutrition in school,” she said.

Ms Rashid added that school quality assurance teams are ready to collaborate with initiatives such as the Dream Cup Campaign by providing reliable data collected during inspections and helping mobilise communities.

“With strong collaboration we can expand school feeding programmes and encourage greater participation from parents and communities so that more children receive meals in school,” she said.

Mr Mgohamwende urged Tanzanians from all sectors to support the Dream Cup Campaign and help build a sustainable school feeding system.

He said businesses, communities, parents and development partners all have an opportunity to contribute in different ways to ensure that no child is forced to learn on an empty stomach.