Rwanda, celebrates the national day of school feeding held on March 6, 2026, in Western Province, Rusizi District, Bugarama Sector at Groupe Scolaire Saint Paul Muko, day schools.

The event brought together government officials, education stakeholders, partners, and members of the local community to highlight the importance of school feeding programs in improving learners’ health, school attendance, and academic performance.

During the event, guests also participated in planting trees and vegetables on the school farm.

Father Uwingabire Emmanuel, the headteacher of Saint Paul Muko, explained that the school owns eight hectares of land where food is cultivated for students. The farm is supported by two qualified agronomists and includes cows that produce milk for students, chickens that provide eggs, and rabbits raised for meat.

“I would like to add that the school provides students with sufficient food of good quality and quantity. As a result, more than 400 children who had previously dropped out of school have rejoined, with the school feeding program being one of the main reasons. The school also provides meals not only during school days but also on weekends.”

Jean Damascène Nsengiyumva, the Director General of School Health and Wellness at the Ministry of Education, said that the school feeding program helps children from poor families study effectively because learning while hungry was a major challenge for them.

“I would like to note that although the government contributes significantly to the program, parental contributions remain essential, and parents are encouraged to pay their contributions on time. Currently, the contribution rate from parents has reached 73.4%. The program has also contributed to reducing the school dropout rate, which declined from 9.4% in 2021 to 4.7%.”He added

Ntibitura Jean Bosco, the Governor of Western Province and the guest of honor at the ceremony, emphasized that the program has improved not only the well-being of students but also that of other Rwandans, especially those in cooperatives, because they now have a reliable market for their agricultural products supplied to schools.

He also urged parents to fulfill their responsibility by paying their contributions on time and thanked the Government of Rwanda and development partners, including the World Food Programme (WFP), for supporting the program.

In this ceremony, the following schools were awarded certificates of recognition and one million Rwandan Francs as the best in the School Feeding Program at the provincial level: GS St Paul Muko  Western Province, GS Mater Dei Nyanza Southern Province, Nyagatare Secondary School Eastern Province, GS St Famille  Kigali City and GS Nemba  Northern Province

To strengthen the school feeding initiative, since 2021 the Government of Rwanda has constructed 332 kitchens and 7,171 cooking stoves across the country. In addition, the Ministry of Education, in partnership with Umwalimu SACCO and MTN Rwanda, launched the “Dusangire Lunch Campaign.” Through this initiative, anyone can contribute to the program by dialing *182*3*10*3#.

The Africa Day of School Feeding was agreed upon by the African Union General Assembly on March 1, 2016. The day is celebrated every year on March 1 to highlight the importance of school feeding programs across the continent. This year, the continental celebration took place in Botswana under the theme:
“Ensuring Access to Nutritious Meals, Clean Water and Hygiene: Promoting Safety and Resilience in Every School Meal Investment.”

In Rwanda, the school feeding program in secondary  day schools, started in 2014, while it was introduced in pre-primary and primary schools in 2019. The program was later fully scaled nationwide in 2021.